okay. >> are you concerned you're giving cover to the saudis? >> no, not at all. i just want to find out what's happening. i'm not giving cover at all. with that being said, saudi arabia's been a very important ally of ours in the middle east. >> secretary of state mike pompeo has an oval office meeting scheduled with the president as pressure mounts for the u.s. to act and respond to the supposed killing of a journalist. after days of torrential texas rains, multiple dramatic rescues caught on camera, deadly flash flooding and even more downpours are expected later today. an nbc news investigation into a company accused of putting profits over patients, promising big bonuses to its

sales team while promoting a powerful opioid drug. lottery nation with no winner in last night's powerball the newly combined totals of power and mega millions is over $1.3 billion. and caught on camera, rescuers frantically work to save a miniature pony caught in a houston storm drain. buckle up. "early today" starts right now. good thursday morning. i'm marlie hall. >> and i'm phillip mena. central texas is bracing for even more rain this morning as the state grapples with some of its worst flooding on record. the storms are responsible for at least two deaths already and dozens of roads are underwater as rivers and lakes spill over their banks. and it could get worse today. with water levels still rising, authorities could open more floodgates than ever before to help relieve pressure on those dams. nbc's gabe gutierrez has more on the rising catastrophe. gabe, good morning. >> reporter: there are new flash flood watches in effect until thursday night. some local officials calling

these flood waters historic. the raging rivers rose quickly, roaring downstream. >> there's nowhere for water to go. >> reporter: central texas north of austin, dramatic rescues after days of torrential rain. 20-year-old jackie anderson trapped driving to work. >> we decided that we were going to swim across and get out to her. i just told her to go ahead and get on my back and wrap her arms around me. >> reporter: authorities found another body. the second death since the lanno river started flooding on monday. >> you're going to see more rain, another one to three inches. while that doesn't sound like a lot, on already saturated ground this could be devastating. >> reporter: devastating because the llano river rose 35 feet in 24 hours, crushing this bridge and ravaging these towns. >> watching $80,000 boats cascading down the river, it was just unreal. >> reporter: patricia heineke has never seen anything like it either and she's lived in kingsland, texas for 30 years. >> it's very tough.

and then we have no flood insurance here. >> reporter: to relieve the pressure on this dam authorities are planning to open a record number of floodgates later today. phillip? >> all right, gabe, thank you. will the u.s. hold the crown accountable? mounting questions this morning over how the administration will handle saudi arabia if the country is found to be involved in the disappearance of "washington post" journalist jamal khashoggi. later this morning president trump will meet with secretary of state mike pompeo for the first time since the diplomat's trip to riyadh and istanbul. meanwhile, the "post" has published khashoggi's last column. the paper's global opinions editor writing they held off, hoping he would come back but now accept that is not going to happen. the decision coming amid grim new signs from the investigation. in istanbul forensic experts scoured the home of a saudi diplomat, looking for blood and dna evidence. nbc's tracie potts joins us live now from d.c. with the latest. tracie, good morning.

>> reporter: marlie, good morning. you were talking about how the turks are building a case. they've also identified one of those seven passports that they made public as a close aide of saudi crown prince mohammed bin salman, who has denied any involvement in the disappearance of khashoggi. now, he also met with mike pompeo when pompeo was in saudi arabia. then he went to turkey. as you said, he's briefing the president on that trip this morning. president trump increasingly under pressure and feiling facing critics who say he's covering for the saudi governme government. >> are you concerned you're giving cover to the saudis? >> no, not at all. no. i just want to find out what's happening. i'm not giving cover at all. with that being said, saudi arabia's been a very important ally of ours in the middle east. >> reporter: interestingly, neither president trump nor pompeo would address what's reportedly a gruesome audio tape

of the killing inside the saudi consulate. marlie? >> tracie, thank you. new fallout in the usa gymnastics sex abuse scandal. the organization's former president, steve penny, has been arrested in tennessee and charged with evidence tampering in the larry nassar abuse case. according to the indictment, penny's accused of removing documents from the karolyi ranch where some athletes say they were molested by nassar, the long-time team doctor. penny, who resigned as president and chief executive last year, has denied any cover-up. he could face up to ten years in prison if convicted. earlier this year larry nassar was sentenced to as many as 125 years in prison after pleading guilty to molesting ten girls. overnight the "washington post" reporting that border patrol agents reportedly arrested 16,658 family members along the u.s.-mexico border. this september the highest one-month total on record. groups in the dozens have been reportedly crossing the border, turning themselves in and claiming a fear of return.

nbc news is also reporting that a migrant caravan from honduras en route to the border has doubled in size, growing to 4,000 people. in response this week the white house confirmed that it's considering renewing the controversial family separation policy from earlier this year that separated a large number of children from their parents. there's a new warning about the risk presented by a growing number of unmanned aerial drones that get way too close to planes. and researchers found significant damage when they fired a small drone into a plane's wing to show just what could happen in a mid-air collision. here's nbc's tom costello. >> reporter: it happens so fast. it looks like this plane's wing was hit by a bullet. in fact, it's a two-pound drone test fired into a single engine aircraft wing to mimica a mid-air collision at 238 miles per hour, tearing deep into the wing, fuel lines, and support structure. it likely would have landed safely, but -- >> if you have a significantly

heavier drone, absolutely there is a threat of the aircraft being lost. >> reporter: so far this year pilots have reported 2,000 drone sightings. nationwide, 109,000 registered users own more than a million registered drones. required to stay at least five miles away from an airport. but researchers just documented 192 drone flights near daytona beach airport over just 13 days. one in five posing a risk to aircraft. most vulnerable, wings, engines, vertical stabilizers, helicopter rotors, and windshields. >> a drone hitting an aircraft of any size is potentially a life or death situation. >> reporter: one solution, gps-based geo-fencing software to keep drones away from restricted airspace. as the risk of collision grows by the day. tom costello, nbc news, washington. leading the news, more of the lottery buzz taking over the nation with the powerball jackpot wednesday finding no

grand prize winner. saturday's drawing has ballooned to more than 430 million big ones. the numbers drawn wednesday night for what would have been a jackpot of $378 million were 3, 57, 64, 68, 69, with a powerball of 15. one lucky consolation winner in florida collected $2 million for matching the first five balls. and tomorrow's $900 million and growing mega millions jackpot is on track to top $1 billion. the mega millions and powerball prizes combined now total over $1.3 billion. >> i was trying to keep up as you were saying it. i think i got the 15 powerball. but what is that? a couple of bucks? >> i have no idea. we'll look it up. i don't think you're buying lunch today. >> that's about it. i was trying, though. >> the flash flood watch continues in texas throughout the day. today periods of on and off

rain. i don't think we're going to see anything close to the devastation or destruction we had two days ago but we still could have additional problems. isolated areas could get up to four inches of rain. if you include a city like san antonio if it ends up over there we could deal with it. temperatures and wind chills are in the 20s in some spots. we're in the 30s in many spots. co in texas even though we still have a lot of clouds out there and some rain. and of course with the cold comes the end of the growing season with a lot of these freeze warnings. >> thank you, bill. in today's quick hits, police in florida recovered a stolen van containing dozens of krispy kreme donuts. the store manager decided to give what was left to the cops but they later donated the rest

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and thank god he ain't. i was so happy i was crying. >> magic was carried out of the house and taken to the vet for a full exam. >> he certainly has the right name. well, leading the news at the white house wednesday president trump presented the medal of honor to a vietnam veteran, retired marine sergeant major john canley. in 1968 canley saved his life to save other wounded marines despite suffering several battlefield injuries himself. a performer loved by a generation of kids is moving away from sesame street. don't worry, big bird is staying but the man who brought him to life for five decades is ending his amazing run on the show. carroll spinney tells "the new york times" today will be his last day on the programs. and here's nbc's harry smith with more. >> reporter: 50 years ago carroll spinney was a puppeteer in search of a purpose when muppet creator jim henson asked him to join his team. >> he said i'm going to be involved with a new show. ♪ how to get to sesame street

and would you be interested in working with the muppets? >> reporter: in the day-to-day goings on of sesame street there needed to be an innocent. >> look at that. see, it's got letters on it. >> reporter: a character without guile. his was a child's voice that came from the beak of an 8'2" bird. >> big bird's trying to be a good kid. >> reporter: awkward, flightless and sweet. big bird was the perfect counterpart to oscar the grouch, who was also played by spinney. >> oscar's kind of cool. it's fun to play somebody very different than oneself. on the other hand, big bird is my kid. in some ways i love him best. >> reporter: spinney says big bird brought him all over the world, opened his mind, and nurtured his soul. thank you, carroll spinney. for 50 years you have been our fine feathered friend.

harry smith, nbc news, new york. >> someone like carroll is finally getting his due. >> i didn't know he's also the voice of oscar the grouch. which is my favorite. >> multifaceted man. thanks again. just ahead, these texas rescuers aren't horsing around. how they saved a pony from a storm drain. you're watching "early today." mean going back to the doctor just for a shot. with neulasta onpro patients get their day back... to be with family, or just to sleep in. strong chemo can put you at risk of serious infection. in a key study neulasta reduced the risk of infection from 17% to 1%, a 94% decrease. neulasta onpro is designed to deliver neulasta the day after chemo and is used by most patients today. neulasta is for certain cancer patients receiving strong chemotherapy. do not take neulasta if you're allergic to it or neupogen (filgrastim). an incomplete dose could increase infection risk. ruptured spleen, sometimes fatal as well as serious lung problems, allergic reactions, kidney injuries and capillary leak syndrome have occurred.

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emergency crews in houston

had to cut through concrete to rescue a pony that was trapped inside a storm drain. firefighters carefully hoisted the sedated animal out and gave him some water to keep him hide-rated. after a short while the miniature horse was able to get back on all fours and go for a stroll. besides a few cuts on his back side the little horsy seems to be in good condition there. no word on how the pony ended up in the drain or who he belongs to. guess we're going to have to get those answers straight from his mouth. >> glad he's okay, though. with less than three weeks left until the midterm elections president trump is hitting the campaign trail hard tonight. he's heading to montana for the third time since july. the senate race there is a tossup, and the president has a grudge against the sitting democratic senator jon tester. nbc's chris jansing has the story. >> reporter: jon tester is as comfortable on a piece of farm equipment as he is underneath one. born and raised a farmer on this 1800-acre spread, he's had

another day job for the past years, democratic senator from montana. >> are you more comfortable here or in the halls of congress? >> absolutely here. absolutely here. >> reporter: montana is stunningly beautiful, with its big skies, endless views, and pristine waters. but amid this expansive quiet tester is in the fight of his political life. >> matt rosendale means business. >> reporter: on the ballot he's running against republican matt rosendale, the state's auditor. but in reality -- >> welcome back to montana, mr. president. >> reporter: -- his looming opponent is donald trump. >> jon tester will never drain the swamp. >> reporter: the president traveling out to montana for the third time. out for revenge against jon tester. >> one of the saddest things i've seen is jon tester and what he did to a great, great man. admiral ronnie jackson. >> reporter: as the ranking member of the veterans affairs committee tester revealed

allegations of improper behavior that took down trump's pick for va secretary. and trump quickly called for tester's resignation. if you'd known that the president would go after you so hard on ronnie jackson, would you still do it? >> so if you look at what my job is as united states senator, it is to confirm nominees. i've got a job to do. and i did my job. >> reporter: trump won montana by 20 points. so for his july visit test bought welcoming ads in newspapers across the state. but republicans are hitting back for tester's votes against trump on tax cuts and immigration. >> and he may look like montana but he votes like them. >> reporter: tester's most effective answer to trump's popularity may be this. >> i think personality plays big here. i think also how montana you are. that really matters. >> what does that mean? >> every chance tester has you see him emphasizing his deep roots in montana, how many

generations he's been here. and the playbook to attack rosendale is to emphasize how long -- >> 16 years ago. that's not very long in montana years. >> reporter: tester took advantage of a big controversy after rosendale called himself a rancher. >> herding my cattle, branding the calves. >> reporter: but turns out he didn't own cattle. >> all hat, no cows. >> reporter: a campaign so local it's been dubbed the flat top fight for both candidates' haircut. ads built around it. >> it's not just how i look -- >> you know government needs a haircut. >> reporter: rosendale declined repeated requests to be interviewed for this story. while tester -- >> i'll introduce the bill. >> reporter: -- knows winning another term is a tossup. >> the difference in this race? >> yeah. >> hopefully it will be my record in d.c. >> reporter: chris jansing, big sandy, montana. still ahead, nbc news investigates the disturbing tactics used by a drug company to push opioids 100 times more powerful than morphine. you're watching "early today" on a thursday. ectric

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welcome back. there's only a couple of days ago people were complaining about the humidity in areas of the northeast now. it's cold. mid-atlantic is with us too. temperatures say about 10 to even 15 degrees below average. areas of new york city only getting up to 50. by the time we get to friday still kind of chilly. the weekend, repeat and wash. >> rinse and repeat. all right, bill, thank you, sir. just ahead, a russian wakeboarder. he's taking things to new extremes. even for them. another anti-wrinkle cream

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now to an nbc news investigation into a company accused of putting profits over patients. a new senate report uncovering the disturbing tactics the company used to promote a powerful opioid drug, promising big bonuses to its sales team and even paying doctors. here's nbc's katie beck. >> a lot more oversight -- >> reporter: senator claire mccaskill's investigation reveals how the drug company insys promoted its fentanyl drug subsys, up to 100 times more powerful than morphine. >> this is the payout scheme here that they've outlined. >> this is so unbelievable. what they're saying to their sales representatives is it's not enough that you get a doctor

to prescribe it. we're going to pay you five times as much if you can get him to prescribe the strongest dose possible. >> reporter: the document shows the payout for drug reps was $283 for a 100-microgram prescription and jumped to more than 1,800 for the highest dose. another tactic used, funneling money to doctors for speaking events to try and boost prescriptions. some of the company e-mails, "own your territory, own a doctor, and own your destiny." "the bigger the script the more money you make." "cha-ching again." mackenzie colby was suffering chronic back pain after a fall during her third pregnancy when her physician's assistant prescribed subsys, calling thank you a miracle drug. >> and i trusted his word. >> reporter: he increased her dose from 200 micrograms to 1,200 in eight months. and when she finally quit -- >> i was so sick. >> reporter: she would learn

later that the man she had trusted had received more than $41,000 from insys to promote its drug. >> he saw sxashts doctors and they saw dollar signs. >> reporter: dr. scott hadland has studied how financial incentives influence doctors. >> without laws in place to protect patients this could happen again with another drug company. >> reporter: insys tells nbc news the report focuses on former employees before 2016. the company recently agreed to pay $150 million to settle a justice department investigation and says it's a different company with a new management team committed to a new culture. still not enough for mccaskill. >> i think doctors should have to post in their office on the wall when you walk in, what is the compensation they got from a pharmaceutical drug company in the last year? >> reporter: information mackenzie colby wishes she'd known. katie beck, nbc news. >> a bad place when they keep putting money over morality like

that. >> right. and people trust their doctors. >> yeah, they do. thanks for waking up with us. i'm phillip mena. >> and i'm marlie hall. we leave with you images from greenland, where a russian thrill seekerests his tbreakingt

breaking new at 4:30 this morning, thousands out of their homes after concerns that a grass fire is threatening an underground gas pipeline in east contra costa county. good morning. thanks so much for joining us. >> we'll get to mike in just a moment with traffic surely that will be affected by that, but we want to talk about the weather these days. >> it's chilly in some spots 51 degrees. we're kind of