how dangerous is this fire? >> the fire is extremely dangerous. it's so explosive and unpredictable, it puts us in a hazardous situation. >> the fast-moving fire taking down everything in its paths with another death repord overnight. as evacuations grow, the fires become less contained. >> a potential bombshell and new headache for the white house as former trump attorney michael cohen says the candidate knew in advance of a russian trump tower meeting. plus stormy daniels' attorney says three more alleged mistresses have surfaced. >> a dangerously out of control female driver leads police on a speed car flipping chase.

>> from the kindness of one officer to a homeless man, the amazing story and power otive p. >> plus sir paul mcdart any cart any goes back to his roots. "early today" starts right now. good friday morning. i'm frances rivera. >> and i'm phillip mena. breaking news overnight, the so-called car fire continues to blaze through california. largely uncontrolled and now has left one person dead. >> we have had the private hire dozer operator fatality. as we mourn the loss, we also battle a fire that is moving extremely quickly. >> cal fire reports that the blaze exploded over 28,000 acres, destroying 15 structures and threatening nearly 500 more. and it's only 6% contained. nbc's miguel almaguer is in the fire zone. >> reporter: on both ends of the state, firefighters in california are losing the battle

to save homes. these explosive conditions fuelled in part by record breaking heat. >> i'm just upset and scared. >> reporter: the most dangerous fire in the state threatening 5300 structures and an american jewel. the ferguson fire is just a few miles from yosemite national park. the rugged terrain so dangerous, a firefighter has been killed here. >> how dangerous is this fire? >> fire is extremely dangerous. it's so explosive and unpredictable that it puts us in a really hazardous situation. >> reporter: with yosemite shutdown and thousands of tourists hastily evacuated, the park's iconic beauty is shrouded in choking smoke. campgrounds. yosemite falls. and the valley floor eerily quiet. the first time fire has closed the park in 28 years. >> we have changing fire conditions. it's just not safe. >> reporter: from the fire lines to the frying pan, 30 million

across the west are cooking in the heat. sacramento, tucson, vegas, all hitting record highs this week. but in california it's firefighters feeling the heat. >> we are just petrified about our home. >> reporter: in yosemite, the race is on to protect a majestic park. in the valley known for its incredible beauty, this is a sight no one wants to see. >> that was miguel almaguer reporting. >> in breaking news surrounding the infamous 2016 russia meeting at trump tower, a source knowledgeable on the matter telling nbc news president trump's long-time lawyer michael cohen asserts the then candidate knew about the meeting between his son donald trump, jr. and a russian lawyer. and in what could be avestigati, robert mueller that trump's son informed him about the sit-down s special counsel beforehand. at that meeting russians wexpec information on hillary clinton. don junior has previously denied that his father knew anything about it.

nbc's tracie potts is joining us live from washington with the latest on this twist in the russia probe. good morning. >> reporter: good morning. not only did donald trump jr. deny, the president denied he knew about this meeting in advance. now, sources and people who have been following this say this could be a smoking gun if the prosecutor is able to prove that the president knew about this in advance. it could be the beginning of a case of collusion. donald trump, jr.'s attorney says it is simply not true. and the president's attorney is questioning the credibility of where this information is coming from. the president's former lawyer, michael cohen who is now under federal investigation. >> there's no doubt in my mind that he's just not credible. i would not accept him as a witness as aosecutor. if mueller has any other kind of case, this is the kind of witness that can really destroy your whole case because any finder of fact loses confidence in the case when you rely on a guy like this, when you rely on

a guy where before you finish with him, you're going to have such a string of lies, you just can't trust him. >> reporter: the man he's talking about is under investigation for hush money payments to women who claim they had affairs with president trump that he denies. one of the women, stormy daniels, her attorney now represents three more women who claim they were paid hush money as well. so the plot thickens. we'll continue to not only monitor developments on this, but of course the president's twitter this morning as he may respond. phillip? >> do not know how much thicker that plot can get, though. tracie, thank you. >> developing now, the white house says a military plane carrying what is believed to be the remains of 55 american servicemen killed during the korean war is on its way home. the military plane made a rare trip from a u.s. base in south korea to a coastal city in the north to retrieve them. when they arrive in the states, a series of examinations will determine the remains are human

and whether they are actually american or allied troops. this hand over marks the 65th anniversary of the end of the korean war. president trump tweeting after so many years, this will be a great moment for so many families. thank you, kim jong-un. this exchange also marks the first visible result of president trump's summit with the north korean leader. over 7,000 u.s. soldiers are listed as missing from the korean war, with 5300 of the remains believed to still be in north korea. of >> it was an historic day for facebook on the market, but certainly not one it wanted. shares of the social media giant plunged 19% losing $119 billion in just one ever by any american company. the fall off comes as face back faces scrutiny. can they recover from this? nbc's tom costello has more. >> reporter: the sell-off was staggering and unprecedented. facebook losing $119 billion in market value, the worst single day ever for a u.s. company

after this profit warning from ceo mark zuckerberg. >> we're investing so much in security that it will significantly impact our profitability. >> reporter: zuckerberg himself lost $15 billion in the sell-off. coming after two years of scandals and investigations. >> it seems as though you turned a blind eye to this, correct? >> congressman, i disagree with that assessment. >> reporter: from russian election med skplg disinformation to the 87 million users whose private information was compromised by cambridge analytica, now facebook users are tightening their privacy settings and the number of daily users is dropping. >> so you could argue there is a lot of rage out there against facebook being but where do people go to express their rage? they go to facebook and instagram. >> reporter: facebook insists it's making changes to address privacy and security. and it's still dominates social media worldwide. from london to berlin, the vegas messenger and what's wning app. despite the stock sell-off, it's only back to where

washington. >> roseanne barr returned to primetime tv for the first time since her firing from abc and the cancellation of her hit reboot roseanne. well, that was over the now infamous tweet last may where she likened former obama white house senior advisor valerie jarrett to an ape in a wide raking interview with fox news show sean hannity, barr reiterated her tweet was not racist. >> the first thing was shock that they were saying it was racial when it's political. everybody started saying i was a racist, which is like the worst thing that you can call a jewish person, especially one who like me grew up with holocaust survivors. >> barr also issued a direct apology to jarrett but with a twist. >> i'm so sorry that you thought i was racist and that you thought that my tweet was racist, because it wasn't. plus i'd tell her, she's got to get a new haircut.

i mean seriously. >> as for her twitter account, barr said her kids had taken it away from her forever. abc will launch a new roseanne spin-off called the connors featuring all other characters on october 16th. >> newly released police dashcam footage shows a south carolina woman's dramatic attempt to flee from deputies trying to make a traffic stop. officials say they chased this woman through fields, residential area and a main road. she rammed four deputy cruisers several times before her car flipped over several times. it ejected her and landing on the side of the road. no deputies were injured here, but this woman was taken to the hospital. police later identified the driver as 22-year-old brittany nicole jefrs. she was wanted for outstanding warrants. > a hit by pitch just cau fracture to his right wrist against the kansas city royals. he did stay in the game till the third inning before being pulled. the yankees said he is not

expected to need surgery, but he'll be at least three weeks before he's able to swing a bat in a game again. >> man. red sox would have done that, been some throwing down. rock legend paul mccartney gave beatles fans a big star by rocking out thursday in the birth place of beatle mania. here's nbc's joe fryer. >> reporter: on the streets of liverpool, beatle mania is alive and well. >> my dream is to go back in time to the '60s and see them. this is the closest i'm ever going to get. >> liverpool! >> reporter: no need for a time machine. paul mccartney took the cavern club stage for a surprise concert. norte norte >> reporter: the beatles played at the original cavern club from 1961 to 1963 which is why the band is known as the band's birth place. you could say sir paul was reborn. >> we played here.

we didn't know if we'd ever have any future, but we did okay. >> reporter: the intimate giga announced with just hours' notice drew a massive crowd with fans lining up for the free tickets. only about 270 lucky souls got in. rare chance to relive yesterday. joe fryer, nbc news. >> really is like a once in a lifetime thing. >> see who is going to turn up after crossing abbey road. let's turn to nbc meteorologist bill karins to see what a great weekend. >> it's going to be a nice weekend. if we get there first we have to dee deal wit weather. a cold front coming through. it's going to be a beautiful chicago st. louis and the great this. we'll get thunderstorms out of 30 million plus at risk in albany, baltimore, washington, d.c., harrisburg areas hit hard by the flooding earlier this week. storms will only last half hour, 45 minutes, they'll be in,

they'll be out, but they'll hit you this afternoon and evening. we have a large area in kansas and northern texas and oklahoma all the way to nebraska has a chance for severe storms. mostlyind will be the w air mass. minneapolis today 79 degrees and mostly sunny. we will take a look at the weekend forecast and some of the great weather. we'll be on the move. >> all right. we'll hear about it. thank you, fast forwarding into your weekend box office, tom cruise is looking to stunt his way back to the top with mission impossible fallout. the 6th installment of the franchise is eyeing a franchise best. $135 million globally this opening weekend. standing in its way are two sequels, equalizer 2 and mama mia here we go again. both had big opening weekends of their own. >> heavy hitters there.

washington, tom cruise. >> it will be tough, bill is talking about great weather. it's going to be a tough one. a lot of us will be hitting theaters. >> we'll see about that. ahead the deepening mystery of a doctor and close shave with the law. you got it from your parents. and they got it from theirs. it's your skin, and it can protect you from millions of things. so we're here to help you protect your skin. walgreens pharmacists and beauty consultants are specially trained to know what works for the health of your unique skin. walgreens. trusted since 1901. now all walgreens brand sun care products are buy one get one half off.

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shocking developments in a high profile murder mystery in houston. a renowned cardiologist who treated former president george h.w. bush gunned down while riding his bicycle to work. >>as a targeted attack, but who did it and why? nbc's tammy leitner has the latest in this deepening mystery. >> reporter: police reveal a renowned houston cardiologist was likely targeted by his killer, leaving more questions than answs. >> this is truly a who done it from top to bottom. it's a perplexing case. >> reporter: new video shows dr. mark hausknecht in the final images. they show the doctor in blue

scrubs riding his bike to work just like he did every day. not far behind him, another man on a bike trailing hausknecht seen her carrying a bulging back pack. minutes later police say the gunman rode in front of the doctor and filed three shots while facing him. the medical examiner confirming hausknecht guide of gunshot wounds to the head, torso and upper extremity. investigators releasing this sketch of the suspect. friends and neighbors now retracing the killer's path, searching for clues. >> did you see anything unusual? >> reporter: and asking residents to check their home surveillance cameras. >> we want to this murder, a senseless murder. >> reporter: police continue to investigate why someone would murder a man who dedicated his life to saving others. tammy leitner, nbc news. >> still ahead, the curious case of brad pitt's style going viral this morning. plus the next generation of

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the highly for a 2019 premiere has found its leading ladies. the original crime fighting women in the '70s tv series jacqueline smith s farrah fawcett and kate jackson, were succeeded by drew barrymore and lucy lieu in the first movie.

kristin stewart amy scott will take over the legendary roles. elizabeth banks joins the cast as bozly, formerly a man's role. >> seeing a pattern here. every 20 years or so, whole new crew. call it a case of like girlfriend like boyfriend. brad pitt's style evolution, sarah started a now viral thread about the actor and his girlfriend mimicking ways. we did a little dicking through the archives. here's brad with gwyneth paltrow in the mid '90s. he goes a little more brunet when he started dating transfje jolie. matched her hair style almost to a tee. this is incredible once it was pointed out. this is not just these four examples. many. >> i was like really? she's written too much into it. >> go to that thread and see what you think. let us know on social media what you think.

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and they got it from theirs. it's your skin, and it can protect you from millions of things. so we're here to help you protect your skin. walgreens pharmacists and beauty consultants are specially trained to know what works for the health of your unique skin. walgreens. trusted since 1901. now all walgreens brand sun care products are buy one get one half off. it's time to check in with willie geist so see what's coming up on "sunday today." willie, good morning. >> good morning, guys. good to see you. this week on "sunday today," my guest is homeland star claire danes. we got together to talk about growing up in show business, how the role of carry math i son on homeland has changed her life, and the emmy winner's most important project to date, her growing family. our sunday sit-down with claire

danes plus the politics and news on "sunday today." you can catch us in the morning or set the dvr and watch us any time you like. for now we'll send it back to you, frances and phillip, and we will see you on sunday morning. >> see you then. >> let's hear about the weekend. bill karins again. >> talk about the good stuff or the bad stuff. good stuff is in the ohio valley and great lakes it continues saturdays. it begins to push into the northeast on saturday. july heat continues from texas to the southeast. you're not going to get that cool down yet. many areas of the west will stay hot this weekend. including seattle in the '90s by the time we get to sunday. heavy rain and thunderstorms possible in areas of kansas, nebraska and oklahoma. maybe even kansas city and st. louis on your sunday afternoon. we'll be right back here on "early today." when your blanket's freshness fades before the binge-watching begins... that's when you know, it's half-washed. next time, add downy fabric conditioner.

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we are back with a video that's been viewed by millions. a florida police officer's act of kindness for a homeless man in search of a job. but their story doesn't end there. yesterday they got together. nbc's lester holt reports on their heart warming next chapter. >> reporter: phil march's fresh start began with a clean shave and a little help from officer tony carlson. >> just because he's homeless doesn't mean he's not part of the community. >> after more than a year living on the streets, phil applied for a job at a tallahassee mcdonald's. >> he said if you want the job, prove to me you want it by shaving. >> reporter: but all he had was a broken razor and no mirror. luckily, officer carlson spotted him and stepped in. >> i said, hey, if you're willing to let me, i'm willing to try. >> reporter: touched by their interaction, a passerby filmed the moment. neither man noticed.

soon thousands of people online were thanking tony and rooting for phil. >> this is really the majority of what police work does. maybe not giving somebody a shave, but helping somebody out on a daily basis. >> reporter: now their chance encounter has blossomed into something more. phil got new clothes courtesy of the fire department. >> i feel 100 times better. all these nice people around me. >> reporter: a fresh cut from the barber shop. and together the men did paperwork so phil can get the i.d. he needs to work. >> i'm excited. i've been out of work for a while. >> reporter: and once it comes through, mcdonald's says he's hired. >> if somebody is wanting to help themselves, i think more people out there need to be accepting and willing to help them out. >> give that officer a fresh shave and fresh start for him.

>> these goods deeds beget other good deeds. the fire department gave him clothes and they're going to get him a job. good for him. good luck to phil. >> and thanks to lester for the report. >> green bay packers kicked off their camp with a fantastic tradition. kids have been lining their bikes in front of lambo field hoping the packers will take notice. once a player sees the favorite bike, they ride to the practice field with the kids next to them. a great chance to do that and connect with them. the tradition started under the leadership of curly lambo. this is just one of two traditions that is really known in the nfl. the other being the lambo leap. look at the big guys on these little bikes. >> that's season when you have the kids ending their summer starting school, football season literally kicking off pretty soon, too. so what a way to do t. >> there you go. that's my favorite part. forn earn. >> great start. thanks for starting your day wi us. thwe start this friday with

look at those flames. we start this friday with breaking news. this is brand new video just in to our newsroom overnight. it's a devastating wildfire burning in northern california, already killing one person. thousands are evacuating. >> and flames reached reading late last night. overnight we learned bay area fire crews are headed north to help. we'll have the latest on the fire in just a minute. first we know on this friday morning you got to get out, plan your day. good morning, i'm scott mcgrew. marcus has the day off.