america's top diplomat breaks bread with kim jong-un's right hand man to lay the groundwork for the likely on again june 12th nuclear summit. >> an urgent health alert for anyone 45 or older involving the third leading cancer killer. >> you know, i've owned three different jets in my life and i used them and burning them up for the lord jesus christ. >> meet the pastor who says jesus told him that he needs his supporters to buy him a new $54 million private jet. >> the grand jury brings a hammer on disgraced hollywood mogul harvey weinstein. >> and the goose is loose in detroit after evading grounds crew, it flew into the message board. there is a happy ending.

"early today" starts right now. good morning, i'm phillip mena. >> great being with you. i'm frances rivera. we begin this morning with what is now a big step in the fight against colon cancer. the third leading cause of canc cancer death in this country. >> the american cancer society say adults should get screened for the disease at age 45 instead of age 50. it is an attempt to halt soaring rates of americans diagnose with colon cancer. researchers are trying to figure out why this is happening. some point to eating more processed foods and the decrease in physical activity. colon cancer is the third most commonly diagnosed cancer in america. >> actor john goodman is speaking out following abc's cancellation of its hit reboot of roseanne. as co-star roseanne spends the night tweeting out her latest rounds of apologies, excuses and attacks, according to entertainment tonight goodman was reluctant to address the drama saying he would, quote, rather say nothing than to cause more trouble. in her tweet storm, barr fired back at critics saying she made one stupid joke in a lifetime of fighting for civil rights and detailed what she calls ambien

tweeting. nbc's ann thompson tells us more. >> what happens' up, dee employerable? >> reporter: roseanne barr tried to explain herself but only fueled the fire over her racist tweet about valerie jarrett an advisor to obama. >> the important thing is you voted. >> reporter: barr writing it was 2:00 in the morning and i was ambien tweeting. that brought this sharp retort from the sleeping pill's maker. racism is not a known side effect of any sanofi medication. >> this is the me too moment. >> reporter: a prominent author on race in america. >> this is a particular moment your race baiting and bigotry and violent racism have to be taken into account and things are changed. >> reporter: her show canceled, its reruns pulled, barr defended herself. i'm not a racist. i never was and i never will be. she apologized to the crew and cast who lost their jobs. offering compassion for the disappointment expressed by her tv daughter sarah gilbert.

then teeing off on her tv son michael fishman as well. you throw me under the bus, nice. but this was self-inflicted. when barr compared jarrett to an ape. >> bob iger who is a ceo of disney called me before the announcement. he apologized. >> reporter: that got president trump's attention. he tweeted, either never called him to apologize for the horrible statements made and said about me on abc. maybe i just didn't get the call? abc late night host jimmy kimmel responded, maybe you were out playing golf? trump's press secretary put a different spin on it. >> this is a double standard the president is speaking about. no one is defending her comments, they're inappropriate. >> thank you for making america great again. >> reporter: barr still has free speech, just not a show. ann thompson, nbc news, new york. >> later today president trump will head to texas where he's expected to meet with the families of the victims of the santa fe high school shooting. as well as the survivors and the first responders. the commander in chief's visit

will come just a day after texas governor greg abbott proposed a massive spending plan to secure the state's schools. the 40-page plan aims to close some gun loopholes, increase mental health practices at schools, expand school protections and increase the number of school marshals at each campus. >> back at the white house it was an emotional moment during the daily briefing. she was struck by the gravity of the question about guns in schools. >> we recently had a lockdown drill. one thing that affects my and other students mental health is the worry about the fact that we or our friends could get shot at school. specifically, can you tell me what the administration has done and will do to prevent these senseless tragedies? >> i think that as a kid and certainly as a parent, there is nothing that could be more terrifying for a kid to go to school and not feel safe. so i'm sorry that you feel that

way. this administration takes it seriously and the school safety commission that the president convened is meeting this week again an official meeting to discuss the best ways forward and how we can do every single thing within our power to protect kids in our schools and to make them feel safe and make their parents feel good about dromg them off. >> it is different when it comes from a kid. that boy is 13-year-old benjie with time for kids. >> they have launched a super pac in order to target nra backed federal candidates seeking to ban or restrict the purchase of semiautomatic rifles. the pac began taking donations yesterday. >> while the meeting with kim jong-un is up in the air, his meeting with another kim is in the headlines, that's kim kardashian on the front page of the new york post. it is ripped by many as sexist

including actress alyssa me lana who called it disgusting and thanked kim who was at the white house to talk about prison reform. she is pushing for freedom for a great grandma thoer serving a sentence for a nonviolent drug offense. kardashian said she is optimistic she will get a second chance at life. nbc's stephanie gosk has more. >> reporter: one of the world's most recognizable stars went to the white house to fight for a woman few have heard of. after 21 years in a federal prison on drug charges, kim kardashian wants president trump to grant 62-year-old great grandmother alice marie johnson a pardon. kardashian took up johnson's cause months ago after seeing her story on mike.com. >> i made one of the worst decisions of my life to make quick money. i became involved in the drug -- >> reporter: kardashian reportedly lobbied jared kushner on johnson's behalf. >> she spent over two decades behind bars. i think that she really deserves a second chance at life.

>> reporter: a federal judge sentenced johnson to life without parole in 1997. describing her as the leader and, quote, quintessential entrepreneur of a $50 million drug ring with ties to the cali cartel. >> we didn't feel that she didn't deserve any punishment. >> reporter: but her daughter says the punishment didn't match the crime. >> she is not a danger. there is zero chance of her re-committing any crimes or anything like that. it's just she's taken up space in federal prison. >> reporter: advocates for sentence reform say there are thousands of prisoners serving life without parole in the federal system on drug charges. >> the underlying problem is the mandatory sentences applied in the war on drugs. these have been a failure for 30 years. it's time to turn that around. >> reporter: the administration has actively fought congressional efforts to change drug sentencing laws, but a reality tv star on a mission hopes one woman will get a

reprieve. stephanie gosk, nbc news, new york. >> we are hours away from a planned sit down between secretary of state mike pompeo and a close aide to kim jong-un after both men dined overnight in new york. all this as a part of an effort to salvage the kim trump summit that was set for june 12th. that as we learn russia's foreign minister is also speaking to the north koreans. visiting pyongyang and meeting with officials overnight. let's go to nbc's tracie potts for what is expected. tracie, good morning. >> reporter: good morning, everyone. here's what we know about the meeting today and the two men who are meeting. they've met before in pyongyang when secretary of state pompeo was there. we also know that they have a bit of a soft start with that dinner at a government residence in manhattan last night. the photo of that provided by the state department. the media was not allowed in. we know they dined on filet minute -- minone.

will they do it on the original date june 12? they are expecting and preparing for that. those talks underway today. the u.s. wants north korea to fully commit to denuclearization. the cia doubts that will happen. by the way, kim yong chol, the high-level north korean here to negotiate today, said to be bringing a letter from the north korean leader. he is a former intelligence official who has been sanctioned by the united states for a number of things, including the sony hack a couple of years ago. he had to get special permission to come for this meeting. >> all right, tracie potts for us in washington. tracie, thank you. >> all right, check out how fascinating weather can be. it was caught on camera. this is a massive dust devil forming along the freeway in scottsdale, arizona. one driver stopped to record it and then it started coming right at him. reports say it stretched hundreds ever feet in the air. no one got hurt. when you see something like this, you're like, eh, that's the fire, some kind of controlled burn.

it starts moving right at you? then you're like, no, that is something different and i don't want anywhere. >> it can be dangerous, happens on the road, car can start swerving. let's bring in nbc meteorologist bill karins. good morning. >> good morning. once again we're dragging dangerous conditions. we've had more epic flooding overnight. one weather station picked up 12 inches of rain so we're waiting to see how badly that is. we know there's more roads that are washed out. at least two people missing that were in a vehicle. we'll continue to monitor that situation. also thunderstorms racing across oklahoma. oklahoma city got hit by some of those thunderstorms. they're now heading through the tulsa area, too. this line of storms and new storms will form. watch out. 13 million people at risk from st. louis to nashville and everywhere i texas and west

texas will be about 100 to 105. once we get done with these thunderstorms and the flooding, the heat will be the big story into the weekend. >> all right, bill, thank you, sir. the goose or a goose was loose in detroit during the tiger's/angels game at comerica park. they led them on a wild goose chase and tried to fly away, it ran right into the scoreboard. doink. no fowl play here. tigers fan. they took it to safety and released it back into the wild. there was a happy ending to that story. >> even better a golden egg. the journalist who had to fake his own death to capture his would-be killers. "early today" is back in two. soaked the sun does not care. but we do. walgreens beauty consultants are specially trained

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babchenko walked in just one day after ukrainian police said he had been murdered. [ cheers and applause ] >> that was the reaction from the court reporter's colleagues after watching him appear before the cameras. the journalist and ukraine said they had no choice but to fake his murder to thwart an assassination plot by the russians. they successfully executed a plot so secret even the journalist's wife was convinced he was dead. here's nbc's richard engel. >> reporter: gasps of disbelief. and applause as russian journalist arkady babchenko who ukrainian police said was murdered, shot three times in his apartment, dying in an ambulance. even putting out a sketch of a suspect. back from the dead, walking into a press conference with police announcing it was all staged. i apologize to my wife for all the hell she had to go

through, babchenko said. news of his murder sparked an outcry. supporters laying flowers at memorials. and blaming russia for ordering the hit. babchenko is a critic of vladimir putin. while russia denied involvement, many of putin's critics have been shot or poisoned over the years, including opposition leader boris nemstof next to the kremlin. he was shot in the back at least five times right in front of his girlfriend. but this time, ukraine security forces said the faked killing was a sting operation which they said led to the arrest of a man allegedly paid $40,000 by moscow to organize babchenko's murder. there was no other way, babchenko said. many are asking, will the hoax create doubts about other reporters actually murdered for doing their jobs? richard engel, nbc news. >> now to developing news coming out of the investigation of the president's attorney and long-time fixer michael cohen.

with the lawyer for porn star stormy daniels michael avenatti now claiming that cohen had been making audio recordings of his conversations for years, and this morning avenatti is calling for their release. >> i have every reason to believe, ari, these recordings that were eased by the fbi which michael cohen and his attorneys have a copy of include recordings between michael cohen and the president of the united states as well as others. on at least one of these recordings, donald trump is on one of the recordings, at least one of them. i know that for a fact. i stand behind it. >> that claim came as avenatti dropped his case to represent stormy daniels in the cohen probe after the judge in the case gave him a choice. either represent daniels in the federal investigation against cohen or continue to appear on tv and tweet. avenatti chose the latter. >> still ahead, meet the pastor who says jesus spoke to him directly about getting his followers to pony up $54 million for a new private jet.

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by living off the grid. completely. you could generate your own energy, at home. maybe you could save energy by weaving your own shoes... out of flax. or... just set the washing machine to cold. do your thing, with energy upgrade california. a televangelist in louisiana is taking tithes and offerings to the next level. pastor jesse duplantis asked his followers to buy a $54 million jet. duplantis said he saw the plane in a dream from god to spread the gospel globally. some people are having mixed

reactions. nbc's tom costello has the story. >> you know i've owned three different jets in my life and i've used them and just burning them up for the lord jesus christ. >> reporter: televangelist jesse duplantis said god himself told him it's time for an upgrade. >> i want to you believe me for a falcon 7 >> reporter: like this one to preach to more people around the world. and he's asking his followers for the $54 million. >> i really believe that if jesus was physically on earth today, he won't be riding a donkey. >> reporter: from his louisiana headquarters he is among a group of televangelists who preach their wealth is god's will. >> this preyed upon the poorest people that want and need money badly when they're told if they give money, god is going to bless them 100 fold. >> reporter: duplantis lives in a 35,000 square foot mansion tax free. >> he's asking everybody who has less than he has to pay for this jet and i don't get that, you know? >> reporter: fellow

televangelist kenneth copeland reesant lit bought a $36 million gulfstream 5 jet. >> praise god. >> reporter: the two kmiz rated how they can't fly or pray with commercial airline passengers. >> this dope filled world and get in a long tube with a bunch of demons. >> right, that's exactly -- >> it's deadly. >> reporter: we asked jesse duplantis and his ministries for comment, but they declined to respond. so far no indication whether he's received any contributions for his jet. tom costello, nbc news, washington. >> jesus. >> up in the sky, closer to god the closer to jesus, i guess. >> call me. all right. just ahead, fans of top gun have a reason to celebrate this morning. we will tell you why. wonder how much that plane is. i'm all-business when i travel... even when i travel... for leisure. so i go national, where i can choose any available upgrade in the aisle - without starting any conversations-

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and parents. you'll make my morning, buty the price ruin my day.ou? complicated relationship with milk? pour on the lactaid, 100% real milk, just without that annoying lactose. mmm, that's good. it seems a little early for the steam bath weather but that's what we're going to get, a lot of moisture out there, not always that hot. when you factor in the moisture we get the heat index, 102 in dallas, midland, texas at 106. even some of the heat is beginning to spread to the east with d.c. feeling like 91. on friday it's going to feel like 106 in san angelo. it's a little early for this. >> in houston even worse. muggy. >> oh, boy. just released cam video of a beach side bust. details straight ahead. scarred soaked

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disgraced movie mogul harvey weinstein has been indicted by a grand jury on rape and criminal sex act charges. it comes after weinstein was arrested and charged last week. the manhattan district attorney said the indictment brings weinstein another step closer to accountability. weinstein has denied the allegations. >> we showed you that viral violent arrest of a philadelphia woman on a new jersey beach over memorial day weekend. well, now wildwood police have released three body cam ra videos. it begins with an officer approaching 21-year-old emily wine man for suspicion of under age drinking and giving her a breathalizer test. she claims she didn't drink and the alcohol belongs to her aunt. things escalate when she refuses to give the officers her last name. >> what's your last name? >> you don't need my last name. >> that's it, i'm done with you. >> do you have cuffs on you?

>> no. >> get over here. >> don't talk to me. don't talk to me. >> you're about to get dropped. >> police say wine man struck the officer on the torso which caused the camera to turn off at one point. officer was later seen forcing wine man to the ground and hitting her three times before taking her into custody. wine man was charged with aggravated assault on a police officer, obstruction, and minor in possession of alcohol among others. the officers involved have been put on administrative duty pending an investigation. >> first lady melania trump has spoken out. she hasn't been seen in public since she underwent a procedure nor what the white house called a benign kidney condition three weeks ago. and there are swirling conspiracy theories. the first lady dismissing those theories tweeting, i think the media is working overtime speculating where i am and what i'm doing. she says she's at the white house and is feeling great. users still point out the tweet doesn't seem to be from her. >> two of the most recognizable athletes teed it up during the memorial tournament's pro am. that is peyton manning and tiger

woods on woods' tough. competing in the annual fund-raiser at muir field village, the first time, they've played since 2015. tiger played and has won five of them. >> do you feel the need? tom cruise says you should. he tweeted that line from the legendary 80s flick. day one, hinting filming the top gun sequel is upon us. the sequel is slated to hit theaters july 12, 2019. that is 33 years after the original maverick is back. we see all these reboots of his movies and this one has a lot to live up to. even that volleyball scene. >> yes. you've got that loving feeling is going to be redone by nicki minaj and justin bieber or somebody. you know that's coming, too. >> the houston texans have a new doctor on staff. mr. j.j. watt received an honorary degree from baylor. the college honored him for his work in the aftermath of hurricane harvey. after watt used social media to

raise millions for the city. in a tweet j.j. said can they put an m.d. on my jersey? whatever he'd like,a live look s

morning-- we )re pumped for tonight )s game 1 of the nba finals. good thursday morning to you. a live look at oracle arena this morning where we are all pumped up here in dub nation. game one of the nba finals tonight. certainly going to be something that dub nation will be rooting tonight for. >> they better win. look at the tie. >> starts right here. good morning, thanks so much for joining us. i'm marcus washington. >> i'm laura garcia. let's check in with kari, another cool one ahead. >> a cool one after our temperatures come down a few degrees. in san jose, seeing a few clouds here appear there. starts out mid-50s.