will you pledge, pledge that you will not shu down the mueller investigation? >> i don't pledge anything, but i will tell you, i have no intention of doing that. i think it's a very unfair investigation because there was no collusion of any kind. >> president trump speaking out on a wide ranging interview, plus he hits the campaign trail with just 22 days left before the midterm elections. as tensions rise among far right and far left voters, is this just the start down the road to november 6th? >> end of an era, one of america's most cherished and longest serving retailers filing for chapter 7 bankruptcy. newer day and prices for

prescription drugs that may have an impact on your pocketbook. severe weather and ferocious hailstorm that forced one mother to use her body to shield her ba a trucker that met a construction road that didn't cooperate with his cargo. good morning. i'm marlie hall. >> i'm phillip mena. the disappearance of a saudi journalist is driving a stake between the united states and its ally. president trump on "60 minutes." >> there's a lot at stake, maybe especially so because this man was a reporter. there's something really terrible and disgusting about that if that were the case. we will have to see. we are going to get to the bottom of it. there will be severe punishment. >> the country has denied any involvement in this writer's disappearance. nbc's sarah harmon joining us from london with the latest on this story. good morning.

>> good morning, phillip. pressure is mounting over the disappearance and suspected murder of "washington post" contributor, jamal khashoggi. we just heard trump there threatening severe punishment if it turns out the saudis were behind this. private industry is reacting as well. more and more executives are pulling out of a high profile saudi conference later this month known as davos in the desert. jamie dimon and ford motor chairman, bill ford both said they will not attend the investment conference. several others pulled out and look like there will be a lot of empty chairs in the desert. the question now, will the u.s. cancel weapon sales to the saudis, a deal worth billions. here's what trump said on " i'll give you an example. they are ordering military equipment. everybody in the world wanted that order, russia wanted it.

china wanted it, we wanted it, we got it. >> would you cut that off? >> what i don't want to do, boeing, lockheed, raytheon, i don't want to hurt jobs, i don't want to lose an order like that. there are other ways of punishing. >> guys, there are concerns here saudi arabia could use its oil as a weapon if they raise those oil prices it will not not just the u.s. economy but the global economy. a lot at stake here. phillip and marlie. >> many seeing this as a matter of money over morality. president trump hinting at another cabinet shake-up. he opened the door to the departure of defense secretary, general james mattis. >> what about general mattis. is he going to leave? >> it could be he is. i think he's sort of a democrat, if you want to know the truth. general mattis is a good guy. we get along very well. he may leave.

at some point, everybody leaves. people leave. that's washington. >> a pentagon spokesman said secretary mattis is focusing on his job. >> and focusing on brett kavanaugh's accuser. >> you mimicked professor ford. >> had i not made that speech we would have lost. she tried to destroy the life of a man who has been extraordinary. >> why did you have to make fun of her? >> i didn't. >> he denies the allegation from dr. ford. president trump contending he's taken a hard line with vladamir putin. the president was pressed on the special counsel's investigation into election meddling. here's what he had to say when asked if he would pledge to not shut down the mueller probe.

>> i don't pledge anything. i will tell you, i have no intention of doing that. i think it's a very unfair investigation because there was no collusion of any kind. do you really think i'd call russia to help me with an election? give me a break. they wouldn't be able to help me at all. call russia, so ridiculous. meanwhile, bitter partisan battle lines erupting into full violence, extremists from far right and left activists in portland this weekend raising questions about increasingly heated rhetoric from both sides of the aisle. matt bradley has more. >> reporter: on both sides of the country, both political extremists took their rage to the streets. street fightsew yknd oregon, ca boys against loosely affiliated an tiff fa, short for

anti-fascist. how america's polit conversation is forgetting to use its inside voices as both sides serve up harsh rhetoric. former obama attorney general eric holder raised eyebrows. >> when they go low, we go high. no. they go low, we kick them. >> reporter: later saying he was not advocating violence. two days later, scott wagner, a republican gubernatorial candidate in pennsylvania told his opponent -- >> you better put a catcher's mask on your face because i will stomp all over your face with golf spikes because i will win this. >> reporter: some politics like new york governor andrew cuomo says it's trickle down rhetoric. >> i hold the president responsible. when you start to demonize differences. when you fan the flames of racism and division. you can create a

nt they're inspired by donald trump. >> i think the proud boys and donald trump disenfranchise those that don't fit in. >> reporter: it has given a license to street level violence. >> in part, that's because the ability for people to try to leverage the public discussion on the ground is what brings people out. >> reporter: angry words that may translate into violent acts. matt bradley, nbc news. today, president trump and first lady melania trump plan to visit florida and georgia. the death toll has risen to 19 and 200,000 are still without power across hard hit areas of georgia and florida. to sift through the damage and debris, president trump has now made additional disaster assistance available. tracie potts joins us live from washington. good morning, tracie. >> hi there. the president will hit the

ground mid-morning in the panhandle an see some of this area where roads are still impassable in some areas and trying to reach some communities. the president is bumping up support and likely to talk to first responders and survivors while he is there. we got a new assessment from fema what they're doing in that area. 400 rescues so far, 58 evacuations, 3,000 people still in shelters. you mentioned the number of people with power out in that area. fema and other government agencies have helped to survey more than 7,000 homes and other businesses. 19,000 people have applied for disaster assistance, and rebuilding this area is breaking news overnight. sears has announced it has 11 b protection. the retailer thatls mor than

140 unprofitable stores by the end of the year. it is seen as a last ditch effort by the struggling company to stay in business. it announced its ceo will be stepping down effective immediately. police are searching for a suspect still at large following a shooting at a 1-year-old's birthday party. a 62-year-old man and three of his grandsons were shot and killed, a fifth man was wounded. the suspect is a 37-year-old man, his 20-year-old son is also a suspect but he is in custody. police say the deadly backyard shooting happened after an argument between distant relatives escalated. >> as far as i can go into detail as an altercation between two separate families at a 1-year-old's birthday party. i don't know how many kids but a lot of people who witnessed it. take a look at this terrifying scene. a semi-truck rolling along in

california losing control tumbnn the department of transportation says signs were posted to warn truck drivers. apparently that truck driver ignored them and drove through it anyway. amazingly it walked away unhurt. in australia a woman used her own body to shield her baby through a ferocious hails storm. as high winds ripped across southern queensland, hail shattered her windows with her 1-year-old in the back seat and elderly -- 1-month-old in the back seat and mother. she used her body. >> the hail got stronger and stronger to where my daughter was in the car seat. i covered my body trying to get her out and tried my best to cover my grandmother. it gettingheavr. as you can see, the car is a real mess.

>> 4-month-oldra brui a that mom. >> you do anything to save your kid. bill cakarins has the forecast. >> i heard stories of people jogging but she was in her car and could barely protect herself. flash floods for 8 million people from southern oklahoma to the rio area. the cold front has gone through. not only a chilly cold rain you're dealing with, potential for flash flooding all day as the frontal ofcolorado, a very chilly day in chicago, only 47 and nice day coming up.

more coming up. plenty here including a new way to save money on your prescriptions, the consumer friendly law sure to be a tough pill to swallow by the industry. and the hunt for the googly-eye'd bandit. a quarterback duel for the ages. the patriots-chiefs shootout. we almost have a billion reasons to pick up a lottery ticket this week. a star is born and so is a hit. making music history.

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popping $999 million. fun math for us.dy is winning b. a bottle of 1945 pinot was just sold at sotheby's this weekend for $558,000. you heard it right, a record price for one bottling of wine far surpassing the pre-auction estimate of $32,000, proving there's nothing like a french wine. >> if you win the mega million, you can buy a lot more. >> you're right price of prescr drugs created real change in the industry. the report caught the attention of two members of congress and that led to legislation. the new law may help reduce the price you pay at the drugstore. >> reporter: it is an a practice that infuriated many pharmacists like steve, something called a gag clause that prohibited them from telling some customers with some insurance plans about the lowest price for a prescription

drug. >> it's extremely hard to see a patient spend more than they should be. >> reporter: so hard, the texas pharmaciis career and business last year speaking out to nbc news. >> reporter: just to be clear, there are instances you cannot tell the patient there's a cheaper alternative? >> yes. it's in the contract language saying we're not allowed to divulge that information. it's proprietary and we cannot share it. >> reporter: an nbc news investigation found it happens on a wide variety of generics on certain insurance plans. for a common antibiotic it can be $18 more to use insurance than pay out-of-pocket. a whopping $117 difference for an allergy prevention drug, differences that provoked outrage in congress. >> last night, "nbc nightly news" ran a story about an investigation which found a wide variety of prescription drugs on certain insurance plans are actually cheaper when the

consumer pays out-of-pocket. that makes no sense to me. >> so senator susan collins and representative buddy carter each sponsored bills banning gag clauss. >> this is the first step what we hope will be our process of lowering drug prices. >> reporter: the president signed the ban into law last week, freeing pharmacists like hoff fer to help people improve their health physically and now financially. >> the power of good journalism there, just made sense. up next, is justice really blind? we'll find out if police catch a vandal armed with -- whoa -- those things. 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. ♪

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good evening, judge clarence thomas, born poor and black in a small town in georgia, will put on the robes of united states supreme court justice. it came after an intense senate debate that displayed raw emotions, anger and hate and hurt and y,oth sides argued mightily. in the end, went to re thomas. >> on this date in 1991, tom brokaw reported on the senate narrowly confirming xlairns thomas despite -- clarence thomas despite testimony from

anita hill. alyssa milano one year ago announced women who have been sexually harassed or assaulted should use the #me too. looking for the person who put googly eyes on the monument here. although it may look funny, harming public property is no aughing ma, reviewing determine who is urge anyone with information to contact savannah police. >> it is pretty funny. >> can't lie, dephasing public property but made me giggle. just ahead, breaking royal news and a star is born. you're watching "early today." don't let psoriatic arthritis take them away. taltz reduces joint pain and stiffness

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after a meteoric rise, "a star is born" is not only finding success at the box office but also dominating the music charts. lady gaga and bradley cooper. it debuted at number 1, giving gaga her fifth chart topper and bradley's first. i saw that movie over the weekend. i have to say, i loved it. the music was amazing. >> bradley cooper is all he's cracked up to be? >> and lady gaga's performance was amazing. at gillette stadium, football, primetime matchup between two of the nfl's best teams, chiefs and patriots. pats jumped out to a 24-9 lead in the first half but kansas city quarterback, patrick mahomes, pretty good, too, trying to outbrady brady on his home turf. a shaky start but would tie it.

the veteran, tom brady, controlling the clock, setting his team up for the game winning kick. new england wins, 43-40. the steelers ryan shazier returning to the same stadium he suffered a devastating spinal injury. andy dalton with a pass to tyler boyd. it comes down to the fourth quarter, 15 seconds left, steelers down one. why kick a field goal when you have number 84, pittsburgh beats cincinnati again, 28-21. over to london, seahawks and raiders playing in wembley stadium. oakland seemed to be a little homesick on this one. a 200 yard day for russell seahawks dismantling raiders, not close. and redskins put pressure on cam newton early and that helped them to a double digit lead. only a matter of time before the

former heisman trophy winner gets warmed up. unfortunately for carolina too little too late. redskins win, 23-17. finally, miami taking on chicago in the sunshine state, tie game, dolphins have a chance end zone. drake coughs it up. bears recover in overtime, they have a chance to win, they miss it and dolphins' turn again and great position right through the uprights. dolphins win. what a weekend. y.cannot -- >> dolphins lost their quarterback to begin the game, . thanks for waking up with us. >> and ical ad lib live picture of san

rafael. a very good monday morning. let's take a live look outside overlooking san rafael this morning. i'll have a full look at the forecast coming up, starting out

our week. and a look at the commute, good morning to you. hope you had a great weekend. i'm laura garcia. >> i'm scott mcgrew. marcus washington has the day off. mike has a check of traffic but first a check of your monday morning weather. >> the big story over the weekend was the red flag warning, high fire danger through the inland hills. that continues through noon wind gusts in the mountains, over 60 miles per hour. in the east bay we're looking at wind gusts up to 50 miles per hour and as we look at what to expect as we go throughout the day, the winds will gradually calm down and we