breaking overnight. over 443 square miles the fire at the mendocino complex has grown to become the largest wild fire in california history. on the heel drone attack in venezuela, how safe are we here for a similar attack? blockbuster testimony from one-time partner, rick gates, lies, secret off-shore accounts and more. facebook, youtube and other tech companies are deleting content. get ready for more record weather coast to coast. and jennifer garner's rescue following a terrifying kayak trip that went off track.

"early today" starts right now. i'm frances rivera. breaking news. flames with mendocino complex fire exploding into the largest wild fire in history, according to cal fire. it's charred more than 83,000 acres which is over 1/3 of the size of rhode island. those raging flames have torched the mainly mountainous terrain of clear lake. the mendocino complex blaze is comprised of two fires that have combined to become one massive inferno. with more than 11,000 still threatened. warm weather strong dry winds continue to plague the nearly 4,000 firefighters battling the flames on the ground while they report that the river fire is 58% contained.

the ranch fire is only 21% contained. an explosive twist. prosecutors bringing their star witness to the stand on day five. manafort's former right-hand man, rick gates admitted to committing crimes with manafort, as well as embezeling hundreds of thousands of dollars. the tax kharpblz manafort faces stems from their work with with the pro-russian government and predate the time with donald trump. and now manafort's defense team wi foc on. legal analyst has more from the court room fireworks. good morning. >> reporter: good morning, philip. yesterday afternoon, almost at the end of the day the government finally called its

star witness in the manafort trial, his former aid and front, rick gates. and like all cooperating witnesses, rick gates had a lot to fess up to. he started out the day by confessing essentially to a long list of crimes he committed that confessed to to the government and that he entered into an agreement come into court and testify against paul manafort. and you better expect that manafort's defense attorneys are going to probe this issue and exploit it for their defense. they're going to call out everything that rick'son all of his lies and point thaout jury venchally that this man is a liar. do not believe him. but definitely fireworks yesterday in the courtroom. meanwhile gates will continue testifying this

morning. they're expected to question the former aid for another three hours and then the defense will get their chance with him. tracy pautsz with what we can expect and a possible meeting with special counsel, robert mueller. >> reporter: let's start with that because as you know for months they've been trying to negotiate this possible interview with the president and the mueller team. now the latest. take a look. rudy giuliani says he has real reluctance about president trump doing this interview and about allowing any questions about obstruction collusion between the campaign and any possible russian actors. they're fine with president talk about that but actions the president may or may not have taken after he was in office, the firing of fbi director james comey, those types of questions they're severely limit and that's where the

negotiations stand right now giuliani says he's going to sunday letterer as early as today to outline what t appropre interview. there could be a decision in the next week or so and that trial continues today with rick gates on the stand talking about his actions on behalf of paul manafort. today cross examination. so we are expecting to hear whether or not -- or how they will challenge him, the embezelment he admitted to and whether that makes him a reliable witness. a new push this morning to remove president's star from the walk of fame. voting unanimously on a resolution to remove the marker. he received his star in 2007 for his working with the miss universe pageant.

just least month a man took a t hammer. instead siting trump's quote disturbing treatment of women. the resolution doesn't necessarily mean the l.a. city counsel will follow through and remove it. the latest numbers from chicago police indicate that since friday at least 74 people were shot, 12 of them were killed. the city is facing growing complaints to athres perpetrators. chicago's police chief is urging residents to do more as well. >> there are too many guns on the street. withcrinal record said on the street. >> that violence is and westen was out at a party when police say two gunman opened fire. >> my baby just left the house. 20 minutes later i got call saying my baby got shot. >> reporter: five others also

wounded, including an 11-year-old boy. >> my baby didn't deserve this. she did everything she's suppose tkaod as a teenagerer. >> reporter: shockd and grieving relatives from the mostly black and latino relatives waiting for word about loved ones. and they urge residents to do more to help. >> we as a city in every corner have a accountability and responsibility. if you know who did this, be a neighbor, speak up. >> reporter: they're facing growing complaints it goes unpunished. more than 80% go unsolved. no suspects arrested yet in this weekend's shootings. ron allen, nbc news. big tech standing in solidarity against alex jones. now facebook and youtube are following suit after apple crack

down on the radio host fames for conspiracy theories. for violating the company's community standers. jones has come under fire in recent days over allegations of hate speech. he confirmed the latest crack down tweet saying quote google, apple and facebook have been exposed for supporting chinese style censorship and now they're imposing the unconstitutional sensorship on thumarecon people." according to cnn the state will roll out a an app that will let military overseas cast their ballots. it was tested duringing west virginia's primary this year. secretary of state phasays he's

confident it's clear. the mother/daughter duo had to be rescued after getting hrausz at sea in stockholm. she shared a snap shot from the pre-middle school get away "did we paddle as hard as we could and end up in the shipping lane?" i'm afraid so. but she said there were upsides like the sunset sw her daughter never complained. her new film camping odoors and may be going hmm. the fire story of course explosions and the mendocino fi we' we're areas of excessive heat warnings for nevada and now we're going to watch the heat wave developing in the northwest and on the other side one more day of our heat advisories. 31 million people under heat advisory up maine.

today will be humid and we'll see thunderstorms along the cold fronter to rr. one of the things we saw with the hailstorm in colorado. this was the cheyenne mountain zoo and there was baseball-sized hail fell. two birds were killd and 300 cars in the parking lot. officials say 3400 people were zoo when soft-ball sized hail ga indianapolis. warning -- pretty incredible. there's video of hail fall nothing to the grizzly exhibit. it's pretty incredible stuff. i had to put it on my twitter feed.

@bill karins. >> got to get a shout out. not many things are more american than baseball. with help from the cliveland indians, he was able to reun waoeut his wife and two sons. he was finally able top his boys for that long await hug. >> hope he doesn't let go w he's home. a protests to the white house and spacex blast. my life is here... [telephone ring] ahoy-hoy. alexander graham bell here... no, no, my number is one, you must want two! two, i say!! like my father before... [telephone ring] like my father before... ahoy-hoy! as long as people talk too loudly on the phone, you can count on geico saving folks money. fifteen minutes could save you fifteen percent or more on car insurance. (vo) ovewhelming air fresheners

can send you running. so try febreze one. with no aerosols and no heavy perfumes. so you can spray and stay. febreze one. but one blows them all out of the water. hydro boost from neutrogena®. with hyaluronic acid to plump skin cells so it bounces back. neutrogena® so it bounces back. i was on the fence about changing from a manual to an electric toothbrush.

but my hygienist said going electric could lead to way cleaner teeth. she said, get the one inspired by dentists, with a round brush head. go pro with oral-b. oral-b's gentle rounded brush head removes more plaque along the gum line. for cleaner teeth and healthier gums. and unlike sonicare, oral-b is the first electric toothbrush brand accepted by the ada for its effectiveness and safety. what an amazing clean! i'll only use an oral-b! oral-b. brush like a pro. leading the news the great white way headed to the nation's capitol as broadway performers led by rosie o'donnell protested the trump administration in front of the white house. they sang "america the beautiful". >> threat president know that on no uncertain term we're alive,

awake and we are woke. we are not going awll, presiden for the performance. however, he is staying at his golf resort in missouri. spacex has done it again. for the first time they relaunched the powerful falcon 9 rocket. it blasted off from cape canaveral, florida just moments ago. eight minutes later the rocket smoothly landed on a spacex drone ship in atlanta. now this rocket could also be the first to launch an orbtle mission. until now they have riri tired rockets after two launches. the shocking alleged assassination attempt in venezuela. six people are under arrest accused with trying to kill the president with a drone.

u.s. officials say the threat from drones is a very real one. >> reporter: as venezuelan president speaks at military event, suddenly a loud boom. his security detail swarms and huzals him away while soldiers in the street scatterer in panic. it's unclear what happened. but his government says this video shows it was an attempt to kill him using drones carrying plastic explosives. with more than 1 million drones registered in the u.s., they worry terrorists could use them to fly over physical security on the ground at political or sporting events here. >> anyone can buy a drone online for a few hundred dollars and use it in an attack. >> reporter: in 2013 german police watched helplessly as a

drone flew tkreubdirectly at an merkel and crash under to the stage. others send out electronic suginals to disrupt them, causing them to fly to the ground. in the netherlands, they've taught birds to grab them in flight and take them away. the government says current law prevents even testing counter drone technology in the u.s. the department of homeland security is pressing congress to change laws restricting with aircraft and the radio frequencies that control them. u.s. officials say they need permission to try prevent that from happening here. pete williams, nbc news washington. just ahead sunset for the sun dance kid. robert redford has decided cal it a career. the aftermath of the highway inferno next.

that's why pantene, the world's #1 conditioner brand, has conditioners for every hair type. from air-light foam for fine hair, to nourishing 3 minute miracle for thick and curly. and the moisture-infusing gold series collection. giving more women great hair days - every day. pantene. world's number one... conditioner brand. for over 100 years. try eucerin advanced repair. for dry, itchy rough skin. for immediate relief and 48-hour moisture. now try eucerin advanced cleanser in the shower. for immediate relief and 48-hour moisture. i'd say i'm a pretty spwell... i try to be. get 3-wick candles 2 for $20 everyday, so you can find one to suit every side of you. pier 1, this is me. i wish i could tell ya how i feel about a mornin' like this.

and that includes a good hearty breakfast. you need somethin' to kinda warm the whole body up and gets it going. it's a great way to kick off your day. olay total effects. the power of 7 benefits all in one bottle. without costing $100, $200 or $400. enriched with vitamin b3 complex, for beautiful skin. olay.

watch this massive explosion. it was caught on camera in northern italy. that fuel tanker slammed into a truck on the highway. setting off blast so powerful part of the roadway collapsed. this was near buloanau where two people were killed and up to 70 injured, some severely burned. >> you can see how big that was. in the middle of the longest

ever job growth streak, they've put out the list of toughest jobs to fill. the toughest job to fill is construction. despite good benefit said, many businesses don't put in the time for on-the-job training. farmers anding a ar agriculture. 911 dispatchers. nba star lebron james hasn't been to l.a. long but he's already making a splash in hollywood. he's set to produce "shut up and dribble." that title comes from comment made by laura ingram on her show in february. it's set to debut in october and the current political and cultural climate against the back drop of the nba. after 60 years robert redford said he's retiring from

acting. "the old man the gun" will be his on screen fair well. writing never say never but i pretty well concluded this will be it for me. he's starred in dozens of tv shows and fills, starting at 21 years old founded the sun dance film festival. boston makes history with its new police commissionerer. pink hospitalized in australia. australia. whrl you got it from your parents. and they got it from theirs. millions of things. it can protect you fr pink hospitalized in australia.. pink hospitalized in australia. trained to know what works for the health of your unique skin. walgreens. trusted since 1901. now all sun care products are buy one get one 50% off. mother...nature!

sure smells amazing... even in accounts receivable. gain botanicals laundry detergent. bring the smell of nature wherever you are. tremfya® is fors caadults with moderate to severe plaque psoriasis. i'm ready. with tremfya®, you can get clearer. and stay clearer. in clearer through 48 weeks. tremfya® works better than humira® at providing clearer skin, and more patients were symptom free with tremfya®. tremfya® may lower your ability to fight infections and may increase your risk of infections. before treatment, your doctor should check you for infections and tuberculosis. tell your doctor if you have an infection or have symptoms such as: fever, sweats, chills, muscle aches or cough. before starting tremfya® tell your doctor if you plan to or have recently received a vaccine. ask your doctor about tremfya®. tremfya®. because you deserve to stay clearer. janssen wants to help you explore cost support options.

jimmy's gotten used to his whole room smelling like sweaty od yup, he's gone noseblind. he thinks it smells fine, but his mom smells this... luckily for all yoha ...there's febreze fabric refresher. febreze doesn't just mask, it eliminates odors you've... .. and try febreze unstopables for fabric. with up to twice the fresh scent power, you'll want to try it... ...again and again and maybe just one more time. indulge in irresistible freshness. febreze unstopables. breathe happy.

welcome back. strong overnight storms even producing severe weather continue to roll through the midwest. kansas covered right now. a lot of people waking up all the way through the ohio valley. hit and miss thunderstorms -- and it's still hot many places of the country. >> thank you. just ahad head our favorite story of the day is coming up. [stomach gurgles] ♪when you have nausea, heartburn,

indigestion, upset stomach, diarrhea... girl, pepto ultra coating will treat your stomach right. nausea, heartburn, indigestion, upset stomach, diarrhea.♪ try new pepto with ultra coating. for over 100 years. try eucerin advanced repair. for dry, itchy rough skin. for immediate relief and 48-hour moisture. now try eucerin advanced cleanser in the shower. pink hasn't been able to get party started in australia. she landed in the hospital with a stomach virus.

her shows are expected to be rescheduled. she canceled her first show per doctor's orders but faced tphrabg after being photographed on the beach. justin timberlake commenting you woeupbt find a harder working, and more thankful for her place on that stage with her fans than thisreport finds president trump's proposed bo border wall could face billions of dollars. they say homeland security has not provided a complete analysis on what it will take to build a boarder on the southern pwhoerder. dhs faces an increased are risk that t wil will take longer than projected or not fully perform as expected. and a spokeswoman says americans

deserve a secure boarder that protects our communities and keeps america saeufp and this administration is doing that. boston has sworn in its first african american police chief. 54-year-old william took the oath at the baptist church where his mom is a long-time member. joined the boston police force in 1985. he then worked his way upro say to enhance> you are a too old to sneak out and party like a r re home to attend the open air heavy metal show. the aging metal heads were found around 3:00 a.m. on saturday and described as disorwhereiantd and

dazed. but who doesn't walk out of a metal concert feeling and looking like that. support continues to pour in for a louisiana grocery store worker whose encounter with a teen with autism went viral.gi him a free car. this is just the latest sign of appreciation. a gofund me paeupbl has raised over $160,000 to help jordan go to college. >> love to see good tkaoedz like that go rewarded. >> and keeps getting better. thanks for watching.ad lib live

good morning and thank you for joining us. i )m marcus washington.

and i )m kris sanchez -- in good morning. thanks so much for starting your day with us. >> we want to get a look at weather. >> we are all clear in san jose let's check out of our temperature trend. mid-60s as we head out the door. we are going to warm it up today in the mid-80s.