only at jack in the box. she just said it. we are y we are awarding her $1 billion. >> the young woman at the center of a $1 billion award in the civil case involving rape speaks out. >> the president coined the term spygate, but is there any truth to it? plus new information surrounding a top secret briefing. >> the nfl tv ratings down last year, but will the owner's major decision on national anthem decision satisfy players and bring lots of fans back? >> new video on the night an nba star was confronted by police in a parking lot, wrestled to the ground, tased and arrested. now the real story emerges. >> more sink holes popping up every day in florida, but why

now and can residents on edge ever truly relax? "early today" starts right now. >> good morning. i'm phillip mena. >> i'm frances rivera. we begin this morning with developments out of washington. we are just hours away from a crucial briefing on the leaders by the leaders of the intelligence community. it is regarding classified documents on an alleged informant who communicated with members of the trump campaign team during the 2016 election. as questions swirled about russia's involvement. >> and while the briefing was originally slated to be presented to two top republicans in the house, overnight an about face as we learn that a second bipartisan briefing will now be held involving the so-called gang of 8 at the top leaders of both parties on intelligence matters. all of this coming amid the president's latest efforts to undercut and discredit the russia investigation. let's go to nbc's tracie potts for more. tracie, good morning. >> reporter: phillip, good morning. the a.p. is reporting the president calling this spygate is a deliberate attempt to discredit the russia

investigation. the a.p. saying that trump, the president told one ally that he wanted to brand the informant a spy thinking this was a more nefarious term that would resonate not only in the media but with the public. the president commenting on this saying that he's not trying to undercut anything. he's going for transparency about what was really happening around and inside his campaign. >> a lot of bad things have happened. we now call it spygate. you're calling it spygate. all you have to do is look at the basic and you'll see. it looks like a very serious event but we'll find out. when they look at the documents, i think people are going to see a lot of bad things happened. i hope it's not so. because if it is, there's never been anything like it in the history of our country. >> reporter: now, there is still confusion over whether a couple of top republicans here are going to get a heads up today before the meeting with the larger group involving democrats later today.

a lot of the skepticism about that. >> i see a pattern in the behavior of the president. he never argues the facts. he tries to invalidate the fact bearer, the truth gif givver. what we're seeing is a broadly political move to undercut preemptively what he fears will be the findings of the mueller investigation. >> reporter: still some confusion over how those meetings will happen later pred calls this a major spy scandal. today's meetings designed to determine whether or not the fbi s legitimately investigating russia or whether they were acting politically, whether they were politically motivated. >> tracie potts leading us off this morning. tracie, thank you. >> this morning buzzfeed and the daily beast said they launched a russian bot net. they took control of a server of 500 routeers hacked by the kremlin according to reports.

sieber security research announced 500,000 routeers spread across 54 countries had been infected with malicious software by the russian military intelligence agency grew. >> the nfl has announced its new official policy on national anthem protests declaring players must stand for the flag or their team will pay up. >> if anyone is on the field and is disrespectful to the anthem or the flag, there would be a fine from the league against the team. they will make their own decisions about how to manage that from there on the club level. >> vice-president mike pence was among those who praised the decision, calling it a win for the league, the president, and america. but some civil rights groups are accusing owners of silencing their players by prioritizing profits over social justice. the cover of the new york daily news declaring nfl dishonors the flag with a list of mostly unarmed black men who have been killed by police in recent years. nbc's ann thompson has more.

>> reporter: to stand or not to stand is no longer a question in the nfl. under the amended policy, a player on the field must stand and show respect during the national anthem, or his team will be fined. a player can stay off the field without penalty. >> we have been very sensitive in making sure that we give players choices, but we do believe that that moment is an important moment and one that we are going to focus on. >> reporter: a political football some think the nfl fumbled. >> i don't think it's the nfl's place to regulate what players do during the national anthem. >> reporter: the ceo of the new york jets said he won't punish any players who kneel. in 201649ers quarterback colin kaepernick was the first not to stand protesting the treatment of minorities. >> to me this is something that has to change. >> reporter: as more players protested, president trump took sides. >> wouldn't you love to see one of these nfl owners, when smub disrespects our flag, to say get that son of a bitch off the

field right now. out. he's fired. >> reporter: tv ratings fell 10%. fans booed players who knelt. usa today columnist mike jones said this is a business decision by the owners. >> they feel like their revenue will be up. the attendance will be up and the fans will be happy. >> you have to get rid of the nonsense. it's political. football is a game. >> reporter: the players union says it has the change under further review. one of the protesters, philadelphia safety malcolm jenkins, says, i will not let it silence me or stop me from fighting. as the league tries to turn its attention from the flag to the field. ann thompson, nbc news, new york. >> florida residents are facing a new growing threat. sink holes with dozens opening up in just two weeks. days of pounding rain and heavy flooding has weaken ened the soil causing the earth to give way. kerry sanders has details from florida. good morning. >> reporter: good morning, frances. you can see over my shoulder here what's taking place in florida, those are some gaping

holes, sink holes, and the real concern this morning is more rain could make these larger and create new sink holes, maybe where people live. after ten wet days, more than 17 inches of rain fell in parts of florida, and i coming. conditions perfect for sink holes, and that's exactly what's happened. in the last two weeks, more than 30 sink hes in central makes mee going close to my house. >> they have a lot of would, to do to fix this up. >> reporter: in some cases sending a warning signal of what's to come. why is the state so prone to sink holes? florida's sandy soil sits on top of a layer of clay and a layer of limestone. the recent heavy rains dissolved those underground layers, causing the earth to give way. there were other warning signs, too, but the residents who live along the golf course here at the villages didn't know how to read them. in a matter of moments without warning, the lake here went dry.

geologists say it was the clearest indication of what was to come. in the villages where two houses are now condemned, that small divot in front of the home leading to the same question every morning this week. >> how is the hole? is it any bigger? needless to say it's always in the back of your mind. >> reporter: because you're not really given much of a warning by mother nature, are you? >> no, we're not. >> reporter: here in what's called sink hole alley, the fear is more surprises like this. there is very little anybody can do to stop a sink hole from forming, so, frances, this morning the best bet for those who live in this area where the rain will be coming down is keep their ears to the ground because very often you can hear the creeking of a sink hole before it actually opens up. >> a whole lot of work that may be worth it. kerry, thank you. >> it seems sink holes are a problem all across the globe. security cameras caught the dramatic moment a huge sink hole swallowed those three cars. that happened in east charles

payne. chinese state media said drainage pipes on-site were being upgraded and heavy rainfall that occurred before the collapse, there were no reports of casualties and authorities have requested safety measures be improved. >> federal prosecutors have launched a new investigation into the sexual conduct allegations against harvey weinstein in new york. among issues in their probe, whether weinstein lured any woman across state lines for the purpose of committing a sex crime, which is a federal offense. news of the probe comes the same day two sources tell nbc news the manhattan district attorney office convened a grand jury in its investigation of weinstein. a d.a. spokesperson declined to comment on a grand jury, but said the investigation is in an advanced stage. an attorney for weinstein told nbc his client denies any wrongdoing, saying mr. weinstein has always maintained that he has never engaged in nonconsensual sex acts. >> teachers in santa fe, texas are going back to work for a second straight day after a shooting killed two of their colleagues and eight students. students were allowed at school yesterday to get some personal belongings, but classes won't be

held until tuesday. some locals also dropped by leaving flowers at a memorial by the names of the victims of the shooting. >> let's turn to nbc meteorologist bill karins with a look at our forecast as we are getting closer to our holiday weekend. 3wi bill, good morning. >> we are. people want to know how the tropical depression k58 system will impact them over the weekend. 70% development and that is in central portions of the gulf. that goes from florida to the louisiana coast line. it is still over the yucatan, and still relatively weak. none of the storms today this afternoon, southeast are related to this tropical disturbance. even into friday, it's just barely coming off the top of the yucatan. so, the trend has been for slower movement of the system so that maybe we're actually going to get a decent saturday out of this. along the northern gulf coast florida looks cloudy, but trend is for slower, but there is a better chance of it actually the ing a

shower storms are not associated with the tropical disturbance. even strong storms in the northern plains. so, for the gulf coast and the east coast it's a wait and see. >> all right. that we shall. thank you, bill. in today's quick hits, actress julia louie dreyfus fuss will receive the mark twain prize for american humor for her comedic work on seinfeld, snl and others. the ceremony will be held october 21st at the kennedy senor for performing arts in d.c. >> this may be tough to hear for "star wars" fans, but the movie is predicted to be the worst "star wars" opening in franchise history. the film is expected to bring in only $130 million over the four-day holiday weekend. >> only 130 million. get a load of this, though. a truck carrying 40,000 tons of chicken feathers. the driver is okay. said he just fell asleep.

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leading the news this morning a public apology following the release of body kamm video showing the tasing and tackling of nba player sterling brown. milwaukee's police chief said officers seen here in the video acted inappropriately and have been disciplined. it's the latest incident with the department that has historically strained relationship with the african-american community. nbc's tom costello has the latest. >> reporter: 2:00 a.m., january 26, at a milwaukee walgreens, police cars stream into the parking lot where a milwaukee bucks player sterling brown had double parked in a handicap spot. as brown leaves the store an officer approaches, his body camera capturing the interaction. >> you don't see the issue here? >> reporter: 22-year-old brown apologizes for double parking and does not appear to be threatening or combative, but does ask why he's being stopped. within eight minutes multiple officers, including two sergeants arrive. the situation escalates as they demand he take his hands out of his pockets, then force him to the ground and tase him.

>> taser, taser, taser. >> reporter: first arrested for resisting arrest, brown was taken to the police station, issued a simple parking ticket and released. he played in a basketball game later that night. milwaukee mayor tom barrett, after seeing the video. >> i definitely have concerns after watching that video. >> reporter: milwaukee police and the african-american have had a strained relationship for decades. civil unrest spread after police killed a 23-year-old man. the officer charged with reckless homicide was acquitted. >> driving while black, parking while black, breathing while black is a problem for the milwaukee police. >> reporter: sterling brown says he intends to file a civil rights lawsuit. tom costello, nbc news, washington. >> one week after the president used the word animals to describe people who enter the u.s. illegally, he demanded tougher immigration laws doubling down on his rhetoric and slamming democrats for

theirs. >> democrats, nancy pelosi as an example, are trying to defend ms13 gang members. i call them animals the other day and i was met with rebuke. they said, they're people. they're not people. these are animals. >> if you had to replace the battery on your iphone, some money could be coming your way. apple says it will be giving a $50 credit to customers who had to pay for battery replacement on iphone 6 or newer model out of warranty before they began offering replacements. it affects people who replaced batteries in 2017. apple is starting to alert customers who are eligible and continues through july. >> concept of getting money back from apple. >> they're going to get it right back. >> still ahead, highlights and your sports recap. the boss burger, where you can find the latest meat monstrosity

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for the first time in 20 years, the washington capitals are heading to the stanley cup finals. they crushed the tampa lightning in game seven 4-zip. the caps face-off with the vegas golden knights.

you can see it right here on nbc. to the hardwood now for game five of the celtics and cavs, from the jump boston put their foot on the gas and never let up. they were led by rookie jayson tatum. the celtics beat the cavs 96-83. they now head back to cleveland on friday. >> making for some late nights around these parts for some of us. >> yeah, lebron's back is against the wall. he could win or that could be his time as a cav. >> you're seeing a whole lot of these today, not on your finger, but right here. noses turning bright red in honor of red nose day. what started in great britain 12 years ago, it makes its official return in the united states for the fourth year in a row. >> no child should ever have to face hunger or not have access to education or health care. >> through donations and the purchase of red noses at walgreens, there are various other stores, more than 8 million children can feel the impact of the campaign. red nose day airs tonight on nbc for a full block of programming

start thing at 10:00 p.m. and what i love about this year, it's the fourth year it's in the united states. now they have this nose to nose challenge. so so you have to hashtag it, nose to nose. >> it's a little hard to talk, a little nasally. a great cause. check out this monstrosity, want to show you, that burger is nearly 2000 calories. it's from chili's. it's called their boss burger and piles on five different types of meat making it half a foot tall. takes some strong buns to hold all that bacon and sausage and pulled rib meet and brisket. there is a half pound of beef patty in there somewhere. there's all those other fixings to mess with, too. if you want to sacrifice some of the calories of your daily intake in one sitting, pretty much all of your daily intake there, you can give that burger a try. >> that thing would feed my family of four right there. still ahead, a check of your forecast as we look to the unofficial start of summer. you're watching "early today."

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welcome back. here are the highlights from your holiday weekend forecast. watching the potential for some of that rain developing from our tropical system especially saturday night into sunday. especially 0 long the northern gulf coast and the moisture riding northward. it looks to be in the mid-atlantic and southeast. >> thankstion bi, bill. still ahead, a stormy day, a spo porn star being honored.

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a georgia jury has returned a stunning $1 billion verdict in a sexual assault case. hope was just 14 years old when she was raped by an armed security guard in 2012. now she's a college student who wanlts to work as an advocate for sexual assault victims. it took a jury less than two hours to come up with the massive set almighty. >> overnight a one-year-old girl in tennessee died after being left in a car seat all day. she was found in the pickup truck just outside her family's home. this brings the total number of deaths from children left in hot cars in 2018 to seven. as temperatures iom parts of the country get ready to approach triple digits this summer, researchers at the university of arizona are looking into what makes hot cars instantly lethal to a small child. their findings show a dashboard

in the sun can heat up to 160 degrees in less than an hour. that's how long it takes to warm the body of a young child to irreversible temperatures. >> we are less than six months away from the 2018 midterm elections and the former head of national intelligence is sounding the alarm on what he says was russia's true impact on the 2016 presidential election. going farther than that, 2017 intelligence reported indicated, here's what he told pbs. >> given the fact that it turned on less than 80,000 votes in three states, to me it just exceeds logic and credulity that they turned it. >> they used an informant while the bureau investigated ties to russia and the 2016 campaign. something the president says wa. >> a california town celebrated a different kind of storm by

ho honoring adult star stormy daniels. west hollywood declared stormy daniels day. west hollywood has been vocal in their opposition to president trump and the city wanted to honor daniels for her leeadershp in the #resist movement. >> peter sousa who served as official white house photographer for barack obama said he didn't know the meaning of throwing shade until he googled it. well, now you can call him an expert. sousa has become an instagram celebrity with nearly 2 million followers thanks to posts like these, nostalgic photos shared from the obama era with the snark yrk captions that throw shade at the trump administration. he calls it shade, a tale of two presidents. sousa said he isn't doing this to be a partisan hack, but as an american citizen concerned about the future of our democracy. his book hits shelves in october. >> all right. a picture worth a thousand words.

in this case extra words with captions add to it. >> really just pictures. i'm phillip mena. ad lib live picture-- san

francisco praef hey, it's thursday morning. good morning to you. 4:30 and live look at san francisco where the skies look clear. the sales force tower is lit up. prf /* and i )m laura garcia. mike has some "flooding" to report... >> we're tracking rain very close to the coast. we'll see an increase in cloud cover and a chance of rain in theth bay mainly tlaer this evening. mobile radar and getting a scan on that. so far looking all dr