constitutional crisis. violence erupts in venezuela as protesters and police square off with election driving the country to the brink. russia retaliates. putin throws out hundreds of u.s. diplomats in a move amos cow official calls long overdue. while north korea pushes the nfl with a missile launch that has the world on edge. and australia thwarts a major terror plot aimed at air travelers. and george clooney gets legal over photos of his twins. and dining just got a lot more adventurous.

"early today" starts right now. great being with you, i'm phillip mena. tensions are rising on the other side of the globe, the united states and north korea and united states and north korea. and north korea launching a second intercontinental missile test. analysts say part of the mainland united states are now within range of pyongyang's weapons. we start with janice. the latest with north korea. how else have united states and south korea responding? >> reporter: well, there was a show of force over the weekend with the u.s. flying two b-1 bombers out of guam. they met up with fighter jets from japan and south korea so they could send a strong message to north korea that allied forces would work together and would respond to any threat from

north korea with overwhelming force. there was also a successful test of the thaad anti-missile tests in alaska. last line of defense of sorts, again against the rising threat of north korea. the latest icbm test has analysts believing north korea has a missile capable of reaching major cities in the united states. and they could be only a year away from the goal of having a nuclear warhead able to be delivered to the united states. so, there is a ramping up of diplomacy to try to de-escalate the rising tension here. president trump calling his japanese counterpart today to assure the u.s. allies that the u.s. will be behind them. francis? >> life in seoul for us, thank you. now let's turn to matt bradley, who's covering the latest between the u.s. and russia. matt, what is the impact of putin expelling those 750

diplomats and their families out of russia? >> well, thanks, phillip. this morning we're just starting to get some of the reaction from the american side. you can see that there's a desire on both sides, it seems, to leave a bit of a diplomatic opening, even as these relations deteriorate dramatically just over the last couple of days. remember, that in his address yesterday to the country on state television, vladimir putin actually listed a bunch of areas in which the u.s. and russia could try to reconcile. and the timing of it is also really interesting and quite fascinating here, phillip. he actually announced this reduction of staff by 755 diplomats only after congress had approved this bill with near unanimous approval but before donald trump had actually accepted or rejected the bill. that seems to be leaving a safe space for donald trump so he can be beyond reproach and wouldn't have to be blamed for any deterioration in diplomatic relations. but mike pence, the vice

president, he actually reacted this morning and even his statements show the u.s., while disappointed, is still trying to find a diplomatic opening that they can still work with with moscow. take a listen to what he said. >> at this very moment russia continues to seek to redraw international borders by force, undermine democracies of sovereign nations and divide the free nations of europe one against another. we hope for better days. for better relations with russia. but recent diplomatic action taken by moscow will not deter the commitment of the united states of america to our security, the security of our allies and the security of freedom-loving nations around the world. >> so, despite that commitment, phillip, it looks as though the situation is deteriorating dramatically. now, you can't really call this an equitable kind of retaliation. what's happening here, this is the worst diplomatic expulsion,

forced diplomatic expulsion, not really since the cold war but since before the cold war, since the founding of the soviet country in 1917, nearly 100 years ago when russia shut down the u.s. embassy. so, this is a dramatic escalation. phillip? >> it's a bold move and strategic timing on putin's part. matt, thank you. this morning one of the nation's longest serving commanders will take over the white house when retired four-star general john kelly is officially sworn into his new role as chief of staff. there's been widespread positivetivety to his new post. with white house figures like anthony scaramucci and kellyanne conway and steve bannon having their own avenue to the president, showed by "the wall street journal," when they wrote an article. >> the president airs his frustrations after republicans' failed attempt to repeal obamacare. the president calling for a complete overhaul of the senate,

telling republicans if they don't go to a 51-vote majority, they'd look like fools and are just wasting time. while threatening to withhold vital insurance payments to keep insurance affordable for low-income americans. still his health and human services secretary, an obamacare fix is needed. >> well, our -- as i said, our responsibility is to follow the law and, again, we take that responsibility seriously and we will continue to do so. but remember that the current law right now is failing the american people. as i mentioned, we have 40 counties that will no longer have any insurance company next year. that's not a choice for anybody. >> but it's a threat of one of the key no votes. senator susan collins of maine isn't deterred by saying it won't sway her to vote any different. in a sign the obamacare fight isn't waning any time soon, a group of house lawmakers are set to unveil their own plan to fix what they say is a broken system

later today. australian authorities say they thwarted a major terror plot aimed at air travel. four men were arrested in the suburbs near sydney. they were planning to take down airplanes with homemade bombs. nbc's sara james has the latest. >> reporter: security has been ramped up in melbourne and airports across australia after authorities foiled what they say was an elaborate islamic-inspired terror plot to bring down an airplane. police haven't named a specific terrorist group yet, but today a major counterterrorism investigation is under way. four men were arrested and remain in custody after a blitz of police raids across sydney this weekend. authorities also seized a number of items. law enforcement swooped in after receiving what they call credible information about an alleged conspiracy to target aviation with a homemade device. >> at this time we don't have a great deal of information on the

specific attack, the location, date or time. >> reporter: passengers here are being told to arrive early and expect delays as they wait to connect to their flights. authorities are trying to connect the leads, an investigation, they say, is far from over. >> sara jaynes reporting, thank you. to los angeles where a van plowed into a crowd leaving at least nine people injured. eight of those people were taken to area hospitals. the driver of that van did stay on the scene following the crash. the investigation remains ongoing. and north korea's outer banks, a severe power outage is ruining thousands of vacations. it started wednesday when construction cruise accidentally cut into a transmission lines. yesterday officials announced three transmission lines were actually damaged. the outage spurred the state's governor to issue a mandatory evacuation order for both islands, which was filled with summer tourists. during the summer, the islands

draw in upwards of 55,000 visitors each week, making this time of year make or break for businesses. >> we have approximately 16 good weeks to make our entire living for the entire year. three or four days of work for some families will mean a mortgage payment. >> officials say it could be one to two weeks before power is fully restored. >> this time of year so critical for that community. it's time to take a look at your weather week ahead. >> here to kick off the weather week is bill karins. how are we looking? >> hot, redihot. not just heat-wave, multi-year heat wave or all-time heat wave, this is the ridge setting up in the west. the possibility areas like redding and portland could approach all-time heat records. 14 million people under watches, advisories or warnings. the warm-up act today.

portland, 100. it's not until wednesday and thursday we get to the peak of the heat wave. portland, 106. possibly 108. if we hit that 108 on thursday, that would be the hottest temperature they've ever recorded in the city. that's the story to watch and the big story across the countr now here'sy. a hundreds for you. that seems like that's your average high when typically you should only be in the mid-90s. how about these guys? hanging around. 100 rappelers attempted a new record. they wanted to see if they could 100 people seated at a table 65 feet above the ground. while they eight their brazilian barbecue. what do you think they were drinking? >> right. to come up with the idea, you know it had to be strong, hey, i

got an idea. >> exactly. now they have to get down and clean up their fingers so they're not too slippery. political fireworks ahead when president trump comes face-to-face with embattled attorney general jeff sessions. the latest on venezuela's deadly protests and elections. "early today" is back in two. , ? ♪ you're gonna have dizziness, nausea, and sweaty eyelids. ♪ ♪ and in certain cases chronic flatulence. ♪ no ♪ sooooo gassy girl. so gassy. if you're boyz ii men, you make anything sound good. it's what you do. if you want to save 15% percent or more on car insurance, you switch to geico. it's what you do. next! ♪ next! so find a venus smooth that contours to curves, the smoother the skin, the more comfortable you are in it. flexes for comfort, and has a disposable made for you. skin smoothing venus razors.

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well. they'll remember that forever. >> future hall of famer right there. leading the news, venezuela is reeling today from deadly political violence. a controversial election there spurred intense clashes between opposition groups and government forces. nbc's ron allen is with us this morning. ron, what is the crisis in venezuela and how will the u.s. respond? >> good morning, phillip. the crisis is about the country's president, nicolas maduro, trying to consolidate power. the political violence soared this weekend during an election for a new legislature, virtually all the candidates maduro's supporters, including his wife and son. clashes between opposition and government forces have led to more than a dozen deaths in recent days. more than 100 have died this year. violence that has been explosive. that fiery blast wounded several police officers as they drove by massive demonstrations in the capital caracas. the embattled president maduro has portrayed the election as a

way to bring peace to the country but opponents charge the new hand-picked assembly who have the power to rewrite the constitution give maduro sweeping powers and eliminate the opposition-controlled legislature. now, the u.s. ambassador to the u.n., nikki haley tweeted, this, quote, sham election is another step toward dictatorship and the u.s. will not accept the outcome. the trump administration also threatening new economic sanctions likely targeting venezuela's oil sector, the country's main source of revenue and money. more details on that along with election results could come as soon as today. francis? >> ron allen for us, thank you. just ahead, do you ever feel like a sardine when you're flying? especially in tight, cramped seats. your rights are about to be enhanced. keep it here, this is "early today." and at our factory in boston, 1,200 workers are starting their day building on over a hundred years of heritage, craftsmanship and innovation.

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seemingly pushing him towards resigning. jury deliberations will get under way for so-called pharma boy as he defends himself against allegations he defrauded investors in two hedge funds. those are some headlines looking forward to this monday. >> phillip, thank you. wall street begins the week with a new all-time high for the dow, but what's ahead for investors as well as air travelers and size of airplane seats. >> good monday morning. wall street is poised to start off on a positive note. the markets were mixed last week amid several big earnings reports and the fed's decision to leave interest ratsz unchanged. investors will get several pieces of key data, including jobs report on friday, and apple reports tomorrow. meanwhile, the number of people paying for tv service has been declined for several years, but that's not the only part of the industry that's been shrinking. u.s. government data shows actual tv sets are disappearing.

the number of tvs in homes slipped to an average of 2.3 in 2015 from an average of 2.6 per house hold in 2009. the decline comes amid the rise in streaming services. more people watching content on their laptops, their tablets and their phones. and the u.s. appeals court has ruled the faa must reconsider its decision over how it regulates airline seats. passenger rights group challenged the agency after it rejected a request to write rules governing the size of seats and distance between rows. the group says smaller seats slow down emergency evacuations and raise the danger of passengers developing dangerous blood clots. the faa called it a matter of comfort, not safety. back over to you. >> thank you. what is old is new again. mtv's "trl" is getting a major reboot. plus, putting the paparazzi

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the show's original host will not be returning for the reboost. >> so many good shows we remember from our youth. "dunkirk" earning more than $28 million and the emoji movie came in second pulling in more than $25 million. that rounded out "girl's trip" earning more than $21 million. george clooney is putting paparazzi on alert after it they published pictures of his wife carrying the infants. they say the images were taken illegally and they will be prosecuted. big celebrities have kids, they're like hands off the kids. that was inside their own private property. >> not cool at all. just ahead, tense moments at a spain music festival and hot dog eating champ, joey chestnut is eating something other than hot dogs. we'll show you. you're watching "early today." n, transitions® lenses help protect from uv rays and harmful blue light. both indoors... and out.

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test test test test test test test test test test test test test test test test test test test test test test test test test test test test tes welcome back to "early today." let's take a look at your week ahead forecast. very warm in interiors northwest. monsoonal rain left over today. north texas, also nm until. as we go through the week ahead, we see a storm system moving across the middle of the country with showers and thunderstorms. that actually has the heat building throughout the inner mountain west with temperatures jumping up wednesday and thursday into the 100 to 110-degree range. thursday and friday we'll take a couple degrees off the temperature. we still continue with moisture from new mexico and arizona into texas. by the end of the week, the biggest story will be the tropical depression in florida and also the heat wave up there in the northwest. >> bill, thank you. tens of thousands had to be evacuated from a music festival in spain after one of the stages

caught on fire. it happened at the tomorrowland festival in barcelona. huge flames. festival organizers say the blaze was caused by a technical malfunction. 22,000 people were evacuated from the concert. no one, though, was hurt. three more of baseball's greats were inducted into the hall of fame. outfielder tim "rock" raines, jeff bagwell and catcher pudge rodriguez leading the class. raines who played for the montreal expos was one of the game's great base stealers, seven-time all-star. pudge rodriguez caught in a record 2,427 games, more than any other catcher in the history of the major leagues, won a world series with the marlins. and jeff bagwell, he had 449 home runs, 202 steals. one of the great batting stints of all time. he was with the houston astros. congratulations to all three. utility workers sprang into action after discovering the

work of a hard-working wood peculiare pecker. he pecked all the way through that power pole. a local resident reported the evidence to the utility crew dp department. they were able to replace the pole the same day. the woodpecker coming back to that pole saying, all right, i'm going to finish it off -- >> to the end. >> and then it's a whole new pole. speaking of chowing down, remember hot dog-eating champion of the world, joey chestnut. he's conquering a new food, tacos. he scarfed down 92 tacos in eight minutes at world taco eating championship this weekend. he was going for 100 but the seasoning made it tough for him to get it all done. he expected majorleagueeating.com said chestnut is the greatest eater in the history of eating. at this point this guy has chowed everything down, made a lot of money. >> tacos are tough. a sharp piece in the throat,

it's all over. >> thanks for watching "ear today."ly -shelter-in-place in one san

francisco neighborhood morning with a shelter in place happening in san francisco right now. these are live pictures from the scene. we will have details on that in just a moment. but also traffic problems in the east bay this morning. good morning, i'm laura garcia-cannon. >> and i'm scott mcgrew. let's get right to mike inouye. >> good morning. the problem is the 880 is completely shut down on the southbound direction between 23rd and 29th. this is not unusual, this has been going on over nights for weeks, but they typically do have it picked up by 4:30. the full closure will route you off the freeway with a i at 23rd then back on the freeway. it's a delay but it is not closed. just a freeway closure will take you off a b