. i really want to see her. i really would want to see what she has to say. i can only say this. he is such an outstanding man. very hard for me to imagine that anything happened. pressure building. deadlines looming. will democrats succeed in slowing the process, or will republicans force a vote without an fbi investigation or public hearing? dallas mavericks billionaire owner mark cuban donates millions on the heels of an investigation that finds years of sexual harassment within his very empire. after a visit from superstar drake and a life saving heart transplant, we check in with 11-year-old sofia. meet the gator hunting great grandma who slayed a 12 footer.

and is this the disco of the future? an underwater dance party with the world's deepest dance floor. "early today" starts right now. good thursday morning. i'm phillip mena. >> and i'm marlie hall. the clock is ticking this morning in the supreme court confirmation battle. republicans now turning up the pressure on brett kavanaugh's accuser to testify before the senate judiciary committee. in a letter to christine blasey ford's lawyers, committee chairman chuck grassley said she has until 10:00 tomorrow morning to submit her prepared testimony if she plans to testify monday. but ford has requested that the fbi investigate her allegation before she speaks to the committee, saying she's received death threats since coming forward about the incident, which dates back to their high school days. it all comes as president trump continues to stand up for his nominee. nbc's kristen welker has the latest. >> reporter: the hearing in limbo after christine blasey

ford says she wants an fbi investigation into her allegation of sexual assault against judge brett kavanaugh as a first step. president trump urging her to testify on monday. >> i'd really want to see her. i really would want to see what she has to say. >> reporter: and answering the critical question, does he believe her? >> i can only say this. he is such an outstanding man. very hard for me to imagine that anything happened. >> reporter: but notably, leaving the door open for a change. >> if she shows up and makes a credible showing, that will be very interesting and we'll have to make a decision. >> reporter: blasey ford has received death threats, her lawyer says, forcing her to move out of her home with her children. >> any talk of a hearing on monday frankly is premature because she just came forward with these allegations 48 hours ag >> reporter: kavanaugh has vehemently denied the allegation for more than three decades ago. in this case, only the white house can ask for an fbi investigation. mr. trump showing no signs he'll

do that. >> well, it would seem that the fbi really doesn't do that. they've investigated -- >> they would have if you asked them to, mr. president. >> they've investigated about six times before, and it seems that they don't do that. >> reporter: but in 1991, former president george h.w. bush did call for an investigation into anita hill's allegations of sexual harassment against clarence thomas. >> the hearing questions need to have a frame, and the investigation is the best frame for that. >> reporter: one of blasey ford's longtime friends says she has no reason to doubt her. >> no one would bring this down on themselves if it weren't a reality for them. >> reporter: kristen welker, nbc news, the white house. on capitol hill, top republican leaders appear ready to move forward with a vote on kavanaugh's nomination if ford does not testify next week. but some within the party worry about the potential fallout and what it could mean for the looming midterm elections. nbc's kasie hunt has more on the

growing rift between republicans. >> reporter: republicans are scrambling to make a plany. >> where i'm focused right now is doing everything that we can to make dr. ford comfortable with coming before our committee. >> reporter: judiciary committee chairman chuck grassley even offering to send staffers to california, where dr. ford lives, to take her testimony. but like the president, he said there was no need to reopen the fbi investigation or delay the hearing, writing in a letter to ford's lawyers that he hopes she'll testify, quote, either privately or publicly on monday. >> the allegations are made. you can't put the genie back in the bottle. >> reporter: dr. ford's reluctance -- to push ahead and argue that if she won't testify, the kavanaugh vote should proceed. senator bob corker tweeting, republicans extended hand in good faith. if we don't hear from both sides

on monday, let's vote. and republican susan collins, a critical swing vote, telling her local radio station -- >> i just don't understand why the hearing shouldn't go forward. >> reporter: but the political calculation is still delicate. all the republicans who would consider dr. ford's testimony are men. >> our thanks to kasie hunt for that report. a shooting rampage in wisconsin left several people wounded and others running for their lives when a man opened fire at the offices of a software company. three people were injured. one of them critically. and one other person was grazed by a bullet. according to authorities, police arrived at wts paradigm within four minutes, shooting and killing the heavily armed shooter. they say it was clear the officers, quote, prevented a lot more bloodshed from happening. although a motive hasn't been determined, police say the gunman was an employee of the company and it wasn't unusual for him to be at the office building. we turn now to pennsylvania where police are saying no district judges were targeted in wednesday's deadly courthouse shooting that left an officer in the hospital and the gunman ledg

domestic violence ran into the court building, opening fire. four people were injured, including the officer. that's when officials say the shooter was killed in an exchange of gunfire with another officer. the cop shot in the hand is expected to recover. investigators have not disclosed a motive in the shooting but witnesses say the shooter appeared to be chasing a woman. according to the gun violence archives there have been 260 mass shootings so far this year. one of the nba's most notable franchise owners, mark cuban, agreed to donate $10 million to women's and domestic violence organizations after a scathing report detailed widespread sexual misconduct within the sports empire he owns, the dallas mavericks. we get more information from nbc's gabe gutierrez. >> reporter: he's the brash billionaire and owner of the dallas mavericks, who has even hinted at a presidential run. but mark cuban is apologizing. >> just never in my wildest dreams did i think that this was happening right underneath me.

>> reporter: in a bombshell strad first detailed the allegations of sexual misconduct against the mavericks. the team then launched an independent investigation. it found sexual harassment by several mavericks employees over 20 years. most notably, improper workplace conduct toward 15 female employees by the mavericks former president and ceo, terdema ussery, including inappropriate comments, touching, and forcible kissing. nbc news could not immediately reach ussery for comment, but investigators said he denied inappropriate kissing or touching and only acknowledged complimenting women. >> it is really impossible i think now for me standing here to overstate to you how devastating it is for an organization when the ceo is the person who is engaged in sexual harassment. >> reporter: cuban himself did not face any misconduct allegation but the report finds that several of his disciplinary decisions constituted significant errors in judgment. since the allegations became public, he's hired a new fespea now.

>> reporter: the report recommends that the mavericks hire more women and create a formal process for employees to report misconduct. gabe gutierrez, nbc news, new york. diabetes is still an epidemic in the u.s. a new report from the centers for disease control estimates one in seven adults now has diabetes. that's around 30 million americans. among that alarming number, nearly a third don't even know they have it. the cdc report published every two years shows the number of diabetics has grown. over 12% of americans had the disease in 2015. in 2017, 14% of u.s. adults developed diabetes. an incredibly close call caught on camera in north texas. it all happened while a cop was responding to an accident on a blind curve. while he's talking with that stranded driver, a truck comes careening around the corner and smashes into the crashed car. luckily the officer was able to yank the driver out of harm's way just in the nick of time. nobody was seriously injured. president trump visited the

carolinas wednesday to get a firsthand look at the flood devastation from florence. the president met with storm victims and handed out food. while touring new bern, he asked a man if ahi was his. that was a comment some criticized as being insensitive. >> is this your boat, or is it just -- did it become your boat? at last you got a nice boat out of it. >> meanwhile, the catastrophe is still unfolding with waters that are still rising in some areas, and new rescues days after the rain stopped. the death toll has now risen to at least 36. today the president will be heading to las vegas for a make america great again rally. nbc meteorologist bill karins is here with an update. good morning, bill. >> good morning. all our weather problems today are now in the midwest. we're getting soaked with just a ton of rain and thunderstorms, and we have flash flood problems in this area and even some flash flood warnings near iowa falls and just north of dubuque.

the heaviest rain will be as we go through this morning. then another round later this afternoon and evening. 6 million people at risk. even a few tornadoes. then tomorrow we the severe weather threat into the northeast with 26 million peoplu have to go all the way up to north dakota today. high only in the 50s. and a look ahead at the weekend forecast coming up. >> that's what we like to hear, bill. thank you. to the diamond now where jason kipnis just lived every baseball player's backyard dream as a kid. bottom of the ninth, indians down one against the white sox. bases loaded. ian hamilton throws one to kipnis right over the middle, and he whacks it dead right center out of the park. that was a walk-off grand slam. not only gave his team the 4-1 victory, but it was also his

1,000th career hit. just ahead, one last trip to detroit rock city. detail on kiss' final tour. and grandma mayor gator slayer. meet the politician bringing a whole new meaning to draining the swamp. thanks to move free ultra 2in1... i run after this guy...

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kellogg's chocolate mmm chocolakes. mmm mmm mmmmmm yeah, chocolate! chocolatey. crunch into chocolatey gr-r-reatness. they're gr-r-reat! the winner of the $1 million and the star of the headline show in las vegas is -- shin lim! >> magical night on america's got talent as the show crowned its 13th winner. 26-year-old self-taught magician shin lim from massachusetts takes home a cool 1 million. he also gets his own show in las vegas. he performed his final card trick for agt host tyra banks and the hosts of american ninja warrior. lim is the second magician to win agt. the show started out with kiss performing detroit rock city before making a huge

announcement at their next tour will be their final one. they join a growing list of musical legends that have announced their retirements this year. politicians promised to drain the swamp. in texas they actually take action. judy cochran hunted down a 12 foot alligator believed to be responsible for killing a horse on her property. from our affiliate in houston, kprc has the grandma mayor gator slayer's impressive story. >> it's big. >> reporter: the last time judy cochran was within range of this gator, she was firing at it on her ranch. >> one shot, and he went under. >> reporter: gators are no strangers to this ranch. they live in ponds there. but this 12-foot, 580-poundal gator was a prime suspect in a mystery. >> about three years ago, we came up missing a miniature horse, and we highly suspect a gator got it. >> reporter: so this year, they wanted to track this big boy

down. but in polk county, there are rules. >> you can only hunt andil a gator between september the 10th and september the 30th. and you have to have a permit and a tag. >> reporter: cochran says they had the permit and tag. >> i am a nuisance trapper. >> reporter: they brought out stephen moye to trap the male gator. he says he tried many a meal to entice that alligator. >> tried pork liver, offered wild boar. finally road kill raccoon. >> i understand well seasoned raccoon was the bait of choice. >> reporter: once he had the gator hooked, the mayor got a call. her day job, running the city of livingston. >> you can't just abandon your office. i did those things and ran home and changed clothes. >> that's a monster. >> reporter: with one shot, she ended the problem. all in a day's work. >> this head is going in my office. >> reporter: that goes from running livingston to running a ranch. >> i became mayor in may and great-grandmother on friday and

killed the gator on monday. >> what's next can get into next. >> wow, she does it all apparently. that was kprc reporting. >> that correspondent be more texas right there if it were florida. just ahead, what's on the menu at hollywood's flaming hot pop up shop. and italy driives back into disco. tennis partner's... chatty coworker's... youngest daughter's... entire judo class. one shot can make a world of difference. walgreens has specially trained pharmacists, that know which flu shot is right for you. starts with protecting yours. protecting the world.. walgreens trusted since 1901. what's the #1 new skincare product in 2018? olay whips. absorbs faster than the $100, $200, and even $400 cream.

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look, i tied him to the rear bumper when i was packing the car. it was very confusing. i must have forgot. i terrible. >> how do you think that little dog feels? poor little guy. probably kept up with you for a mile or so. tough little mutt. >> yeah, yeah. >> well, an arizona truck driver almost accidentally reenacted that classic scene from national lampoon's vacation. thankfully, thankfully a volunteer deputy noticed the driver's dog was still tied to the tractor-trailer's bumper. oh, my gosh, you can see that there. wow, just in time the deputy sped to the rescue, managing to stop the truck before it cruised onto the highway. the driver understandably, incredibly grateful, telling the deputy he was distracted and forgot to untie his dog. this could have gone all sorts of wrong. >> poor dog. i'm glad he's okay. >> i don't think we would have showed it otherwise. a pop-up restaurant in

hollywood is serving up flaming hot cheetos in ways you'd never imagine. at the flaming hot spot, you could start off with dishes such the flaming hot fries. for the main course, there's the five alarm cheetos steak or the hot schee tows burrito. to finish off, how about the chesters cheetos churros. >> i've been on this. eighth grade. cheetos on everything. >> including dessert? >> that's right. well, it was breakfast, lunch, dinner and dessert when you're in middle school. pour that cheese on it. a swimming pool in italy is making waves with a new kind of dance club. hundreds of music fans dove 137 feet in the world's deepest swimming pool for this very trippy experience called deep through a sub aqua sound system from a viewing tunnel. partygoershe dance floor with t

special diving helmets. is the . that is something different. >> that's one way to party. just ahead, an update. the young heart transplant patient who charmed drake now healthy and out of her hospital bed. you're watching "early today." d♪ ♪ lean on me, when you're not strong ♪ ♪ and i'll be your friend ♪ i'll help you carry on ♪ lean on me ♪ mmm... ♪ lean on me... ♪ mmm... ♪ lean on me... your digestive system has billions of bacteria but life can throw them off balance. re-align yourself with align probiotic. and try new align gummies with prebiotics and probiotics

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with oprah and ruth bader ginsburg? >> that's actually not a bad idea. i would do that. >> honestly jimmy, you're amazing. you're like the pumpkin spice latte. you're a little too sweet, but the white people love you. it's one of those weird things. >> that is funny. >> pretty spot-on. the same i think could be said of kevin hart as well, though, right? good line, though. let's get into the weekend forecast. as we click into fall, can you believe that? we are worried about heavy rain in oklahoma. could have some flash flooding issues. this will be an event that's friday and your getaway day. even glass and fort worth could get some of that rain. moving into arkansas. a nice weekend for the plains. the northeast looks fantastic. that rain threat continues all the way to sunday in the deep

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when you wish upon a star, you may just get a superstar. singer drake fulfilled 11-year-old sofia sanchez's wish to meet him. then days later another wish came through. she received a new heart. sofia is now on the fast track home and is speaking about her whirlwind experience for the first time. nbc's kate snow has the exclusive interview. >> sofia sanchez is hard to keep up with. impossible to believe she got a new heart just three weeks ago. what are you looking forward to the most when you get to go back home for good? >> to see everybody, go back to school, just say, hey, everybody, i'm back. yell my name. >> yell your name? >> yeah. and i'm going to be like, i'm back! that's what i always used to do, yell in the morning. hey, everyone, it's sofia.

>> she's not shy, is she? >> she is not. >> reporter: her mom knew something was wrong when her daughter could no longer walk the stairs or keep up with her travel softball team. >> the whole month of june i was taking her from doctor to doctor. >> what were they saying? >> asthma. one doctor said she had psychological issues. >> reporter: by the time sofia got to lurie children's hospital, her heart was functioning at 12 percent. she needed a transplant. was it scary when they said your heart's not working right? >> yeah. >> reporter: but sofia focused on the positive. she could still dance to drake's hit of the summer, and her video went viral. >> please come and see me.he sh. i'm here. >> reporter: when you said, hey, come visit me, drake, did you in a million years thunk he would? >> not really, but i had a tough morning, and then when he came and surprised me -- later, her mo had a heart

donor. >> congratulations. >> i'm getting a heart, mom. >> reporter: one day she hopes to meet the donor's family. >> i want to be a donor because it gives a second chance for other people. ♪ >> reporter: and that video that got her all the attention in the first place? just look at her dance now. what's your favorite song? >> god e plan because god had a plan for me to get a heart and i got it. >> reporter: kate snow, nbc news, chicago. >> that is amazing. so full of life and personality. how much would you shell out for an exclusive dinner at the happiest place on earth? that's right, disney land is offering a lavish dining experience at 21 royale located at a secret spot inside the park. $15,000 to feed a party of 12. that's $1,250 per head. it includes appetizers and cocktails followed by a seven course meal and an evening fireworks show. >> i need to see that menu. >> mickey mouse maybe will be

the chef. i'm phillip mena. >> and i'marlie hall. mad lib l

bay bridge good morning and thank you for joining us. i )m marcus washington. . good thursday morning. as we take a live look at the bay bridge. >> summer hanging ontoday, right? >> oh, yeah. and also with the hotter temperature, we're concerned about the high fire danger. we do have a red flag warning in effect for bay area hills. for all those areas shaded in red. so, we'll have those microclimates in an alert today as the winds increase and decrease in humidity. wind gusts up to 35 miles an hour. here are the winds, picking up throughout the day but the dry, northerly wind will cause a lot of concerns. you need to be careful w