new week, new storm. tropical storm michael is gaining strength and should be a hurricane in a day as it spreads toward the florida panhandle. this is one of the biggest losses of life -- loss of lives that we've seen in a long, long time. >> a tragic scene. 20 people killed in a single limo crash. how did it happen? who was involved? the ntsb is investigating this morning. today brett kavanaugh begins his roughly $255,000 a year bhe court justic b singing legend ts revealing health crisis and the man who gave her a surrounding

pompeo and north korea's kim jong un. week. "early today" starts right now. >> good morning. i'm phillip mena. >> and i'm marlie hall. the 2018 hurricane season isn't over yet. tropical storm michael may strengthen into a hurricane in the coming days and is expected to slam florida's gulf coast according to the national hurricane center. >> with the hurricane predicted to make landfall as a category 2 storm as early as tuesday, florida's governor rick scott has already declared a state of emergency. meteorologist michelle grossman joining us this morning. good morning, michelle. what's the latest here? >> good morning. it's going to be a big story this week. we are looking at tropical storm michael the 13th named storm of the season and we do anticipate it to become a hurricane. hurricane category 2 probably by tuesday. right now 95 miles east-southeast of cozumel, mexico. about 60 miles per hour. o throughout timehurreane.

's 8:00 p.m., later tuesday into wednesday. 75-mile-per-hour wifrnnds. even as early as tonight we could see a category 1 storm. and there it makes landfall along the panhandle, anywhere from panama to parts of the gulf coast. and then it will impact the northeast as we go throughout the rest of the week. so we are looking at the potential for some deadly storm surge, also some very heavy rain and damaging winds that could cause some power outages. >> we know the drill. hopefully they take heed there. michelle, thank you. >> sure. the deadliest crash in many years rocking a small upstate new york community. this morning ntsb investigators will return to the scene of a limo accident that claimed the lives of 20 people. the victims on board were out celebrating a 30th birthday saturday when the stretch suv careened off a highway, sped down a hill into a parking lot where it hit a car. the tragedy is sparking new safety concernsor limousines. >> everyan yet there are no rul regulating them. once and for all, the ntsb must

pass regulations limiting these stretch limos and their safety. >> nbc scheneman has the latest on the investigation. >> reporter: it was just before 2:00 afternoon in schoharie, new york when police say a ford excursion packed with passengers drove through a stop sign. >> motor vehicle accident. >> reporter: whichn't limo sped down a hill through a parking lot and collided with a parked car. two pedestrians in the parking lot were killed as well as all 18 people on board the limo. the suv was rented for a 30th birthday celebration. >> they did the responsible thing getting a limo so they wouldn't be driving. >> reporter: news of the crash rattled local residents. >> we're a small community, and they're all our friends, and nobodyul what happened is would not say

inside the vehicle were buckled up. >> the front seat passengers and the driver would be required to wear a seat belt. the passengers in the back would not. >> reporter: a team from the national transportation safety board has also started to investigate. >> this is one of the biggest losses of life -- loss of lives that we've seen in a long, long time. >> reporter: the ntsb says this is the nation's deadliest transportation incident since 2009. dan scheneman, nbc news. secretary of state mike pompeo is back in north korea this weekend, once again discussing denuclearization with leader kim jong un. pompeo telling reporters today they made "significant progress on the issue" and that they're pretty close to an agreement on a second summit between kim and president trump. pompeo making those comments from seoul, south korea where he also met with president moon jae-in. president trump tweeting about the progress saying, "i look forward to seeing chairman kim again in the near future." in just one more day the supreme court will again have nine justices on its bench. brett kavanaugh is compared to

join his new colleagues tomorrow. he was sworn in as an associate justice saturday in a private ceremony after the senate voted to confirm him to the high court. president trump announcing a formal swearing in for this evening. but fallout from the contentious fight continues, with some democratic lawmakers already floating the idea of imfeaturing judge kavanaugh. each party looking to use the controversy to energize their base less than a month away from midterm elections. let's get more from nbc's tracie potts in washington. good morning. >> hi there, marlie. good morning. republicans interestingly now admitting that their side was sort of lackluster they think going into these elections. but listen to what some republicans are saying now after this bitter partisan fight over judge kavanaugh. >> i'm happy that those who tried to destroy his life fell short. i'm glad those who tried to overturn the rule of law and replace p with mob rule lost. i've never been more pissed in

my life. >> so i want to thank -- i want to thank the other side for their tactics that have allowed us to kind of energize and get involved our own voters. >> reporter: so let's talk about the other side. democrats after kavanaugh's -- you see his private swearing in. the public swearing in set for tonight. but democrats insist this is not the end. they still think that those sexual misconduct allegations were not fully investigated. we saw house minority leader nancy pelosi in a letter to democrats saying let's not agonize, let's organize. they are hoping to take the majority in november. but some don't think it's a good idea to talk about impeaching kavanaugh on these allegations that the fbi says were not substantiated. >> i think that's premature. there's only ever been one justice that's been impeached, and i think talking about it at this point isn't necessarily healing us and moving us forward. >> reporter: there are some

republicans who could be at risk and not just one month from now. susan collins, the maine republican who voted for kavanau kavanaugh, had $3.5 million raised against her for whoever ends up running against her two years from now. she says that crowd-funding effort was an effort to intimidate her into voting for kavanaugh. but obviously she eventually did not. marlie? >> tracie, thanks so much. new developments this morning in the mystery surrounding the missing president of interpol. the international police organization has received a letter of resignation from meng hongwei with no details attached. he was traveling in china when he was detained by the government. in a brief statement the country's anti-corruption watchdog said "mr. meng is suspected of violating the law and is currently under monitoring." for more on this bizarre story let's get to nbc's sarah harman in london. sarah, i understand you just have new information on this case. >> hey, phillip. good morning to you there. yeah, if this were a movie, we'd probably all be saying, you

know, the plot is a little over the top. but this actually happened. the head of interpol disappeared last month while he was traveling in china. and this morning china said they're investigating him for bribery and for other crimes. now, meng's wife, grace, says that before he vanished on september the 25th he sent her an image of a knife. and she says to her that was meng's way of saying he was in danger. grace meng gave a press conference in lyon, france. that's where interpol is based. and she did it with her back to the cameras. she doesn't want her face shown becash actress fan binbing mysteriously disappeared three months ago, and it's threatening to tarnish beijing's reputation abroad. phillip? marlie? we'll of course continue to bar investigation here. sarah, thank you. spacex is lighting up the skies over california. as the aerospace company pumd off its first west coast launch and left-handing of its reusable

falcon ix rocket. the rocket blasted off from vandenberg air force base near santa barbara and landed on a concrete pad at the base about 15 minutes later. the launch cause the quite a commotion in l.a. and resulted in a swirling technicolor light show that could be seen as far north as san francisco. up until now all of spacex's ground landings have been out of cape canaveral, florida. this morning singer tina turner is in the spotlight, revealing she underwent a life-saving kidney transplant and the donor was her husband. in an upcoming biography out this month the 78-year-old singer reveals she suffered from kidney disease and her current husband music producer irving bock gave her his kidney. turner says her kidneys were only functioning at 20%. she adds the organ donation from her husband gave her happiness and belief to be alive. >> leetch as everything to do with it as far as this is concerned. the elusive art prankster

strikes again. a banksy painting of girl with balloon shred tdself into pieces just moments after it sold for $1.4 million at sotheby's auction house in london. a sum matching the painter's previous record sale. the mysterious british artist later posted this video on his instagram account and revealed he had secretly built a shredder into the painting years ago in case it was ever put up for auction. >> i love banksy. everything about him. that's one of my favorite pieces too. you know what's going to happen? it's going to be worth even more money. >> that's what they said. 1.4 they bid it and it could be up 207 millio up to 7 million. >> what's the latest on michael? >> tropical storm michael 13 named storm of the atlantic hurricane season. we're looki inotenal of it becoming a hurricane setting its sights on the gulf coast, we're certainly going to

outhern plains we're looking at summer-like weather and also some very flooding rains throughout the central and southern plains. we expect michael to become a hurricane. definitely going to cause a lot of problems this week. we're going to talk about it a bunch over the next couple days. >> miriam michelle. we'll check in a little later. at the movies this weekend a box o'record was shattered. superhero origin movie "venom" led the charge, bringing in an october box office best of $80 million. and in second place was warner brothers' e film stars lady gag director bradley cooper and received a multitude of positive reviews from critics and audiences alike. not want to trust messages from your facebook friends this week. and the drama that came after the bell at the ufc match of the year. stuffy? that's because your home is filled with soft surfaces that trap odors and release them back into the room.

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future. the powerball and mega millions jackpots continue to grow. there were no winners of saturdaying drawing of powerball. that means tomorrow night night's mega millions jackpot is a whopping $470 million while wednesday's powerball is 282 million combined. the jackpots total more than 3/4 of a billion dollars. >> ever buy lottery tickets? >> i have. all the time. you've got to be in it to win it. >> yeah. a couple times. we're always in, it nev it, nev it. how humans became the building blocks for spain's newest tower. and the fists, they kept flying after the bell. a massive brawl broke out at the ufc's match of the year. we'll show you more when we come back on "early today." you see clear skin. you see me. but if you saw me before cosentyx... ♪ i was covered. it was awful. but i didn't give up. i kept fighting. i got clear skin with cosentyx.

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thousands of turned out for the annual human tower building competition in could build the tallest and most complicated tower. the tradition dates back to the 18th century and takes place during festivals throughout the catalan region. >> people in europe really love climb on top of each other. >> very athletic. >> did another one last week, similar situation. there was quite a scene in las vegas this weekend. an ultimate fighting match lasted four rounds, but the real fireworks, that started when it was all over. even mike tyson thought it was crazy. nbc's kathyar the story. >> this is crazy. >> reporter: the highly

anticipated ufc fight between mma rivals conor mcgregor and khabib nurmagomedov took an ugly turn moments after mcgregor tapped out in the fourth round. >> he jumps the fence. whoa! >> reporter: the brawl shows nurmagomedov leaping into the crowd toward men in mcgregor's corner after they allegedly taunted him. and then watch as toctagon, punching the back of mcgregor's head. >> people have been saying mean things to each other for 18 years here at the ufc. nothing like this has ever multimillion-dollar purse now being withheld pending an investigation. his title also in jeopardy. >> i know this is not my best side. you know, this is not my best side. you know, i'm human being. >> reporter: in the post-fight press conference nurmagomedov brought up the bad blood between the two men. going back to when mcgregor pled guilty to disorderly conduct for attacking nurmagomedov's bus

last april. >> he talk about my religion. he talk about my country. he talk about my father. he come to brooklyn and he broke bass. >> reporter: the scuffle even creating quite a spectacle on social media with fans, celebrities, even boxer mike tyson weighing in tweeting that the cos fight, ryan. and while mcgregor didn't press any charges, he's indicated this fight is far from over, tweeting "good knock. look forward to the rematch." kathy park, nbc news. it was here. i couldn't catch my breath. it was the last song of the night. they said i had afib. what's afib? i knew that meant i was at a greater risk of stroke. i needed answers. my doctor and i chose xarelto® to help keep me protected from a stroke. once-daily xarelto®, a latest-generation blood thinner significantly lowers the risk of stroke in people with afib not caused by a heart valve problem. warfarin interferes with at least 6

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here. 36-yard field goal attempt to win the game. kicksnap, the hold, the texans beat the cowboys on sunday night. next buffalo taking on tennessee on the road. tennessee looking to continue their best start in ten years. all about defense here. both offenses held under 15 points. in the fourth quarter buffalo a 46-yard field goal. steven hauschka lines it and a 13-12 victory as soon as that ball goes through the uprights. moving over to cleveland another low-scoring a, a little pillow fight between the browns and the ravens. ba -yard touchdown pass to put brownies up three. after a missed field goal at the end of regulation the browns have a chance to win it in overtime. gross but it was good. cleveland wins. switching to another nail biter in the queen city, the panthers and the giants. giants down big here when odell beckham jr. he's like stop throwing me the ball, let me throw the ball. he finds saquon barkley in the

corner for the score. was the moment that would decide the game. a 63-yard field goal from graham gano. and the panthers beat the giants 33-31. we'll be right back. (vo) this is not a video game. this is not a screensaver. this is the destruction of a cancer cell by the body's own immune system, thanks to medicine that didn't exist until now. and today can save your life. ♪ ♪ start with 100% cleancheese? ingredients.

like vermont white cheddar. then... add bacon, bbq chicken, or baja blend. catering and delivery now available. panera. food as it should be. we're back with the story about a little justice at last for an important figure in american history. sally hemmings, a woman enslaved by one of our founding fathers, thomas jefferson. >> she had six children with him and until recently was almost entirely absent from the exhibits at monticello, jefferson's home. but as nbc's geoff bennett reports, now that's changed. >> reporter: it's a public reckoning of the founding father revered for penning the words "all men are created equal."

yet owned slaves throughout his lifetime. >> it's the great paradox of the foungd of t founding of the country. right? jefferson writes the declaration of independence. yet he's the man who owned 607 men, women, and children. >> reporter: here the story of sally hemmings now takes center stage. after more than two centuries of ignoring or covering up an open secret during jefferson's life. enslaved by jefferson, hemmings is believed to have given birth to six of his children. dna evidence backs it up. visitors learn about hemmings' life through the recollections of her son madison. >> it's emotional. you really feel it. >> i think it's important again to acknowledge that truth about our founding fathers. they were deeply flawed human ly heming's story, now embraced, wasn't always welcome here. >> i came on lots of tours of monticello and i remember when a tour guide would say, well, we don't talk about her. >> reporter: the sally hemings exhibit is housed within what

were once slave quarters here along the south wing. now the room and hemingz' new prominence are a much larger part of the story of monticello. >> so when i had a chance to step on that dirt, i actually got on my knees and i rubbed my hands in the dirt because i wanted to feel the presence of my ancestors. and i did. >> reporter: gale jessup white descends from one of jefferson's enslaved chefs, sally's brother, peter hemings. hundreds of descendants returned to montd chicello in june. >> i think you can't understand this country if you don't understand how it was founded. and i don't think you can understand race in this country without understanding slavery. >> so monticello is more than a mansion on a mountain. >> yes. it's much more. it's a crucible of really what our country has been and what it means today. >> reporter: sally s' story and others at monticello capturing the country's early aspirations and its stark

contradictions. geoff bennett, nbc news, charlottesville, virginia. >> good to see all sides of american history being recognized. >> it should be. it sho sally hemings had a very complex and fascinating past. important for us to know. >> absolutely. thanks for watching "early today." i'm marlie hall. >> i'm phillip mena. we leave with you these beautiful images of the 47th annual albuquerque international balloon fiesta. it kicked off this weekend. the news continues right here on nbc. have a great monday.ad lib liven

francisco. welcome to monday morning. let's take a peek outside. live look at the beautiful bay bridge this morning, illuminated nicely. i notice a lot of folks up and about early this morning, and it's columbus day. good morning to you, i'm laura garcia. >> and i'm marcus washington. we'll get to that traffic in a moment. mike inouye has that for us. first the weather, meteorologist kari hall is here and a cool start to the morning. >> it is a cool start.

we'll start out with temperatures in the 50s and we have a high fire danger that continues from over the weekend and we do have that red flag warn so long that will be the main story, those gusty winds that will continue through about 9:00 and then the red flag warning and thed