i wasn't going to fire you know why because i watched richard nixon go around firing everybody and that didn't work out too well. >> presidential powers called into question. the controversy stirred up by president trump's new interview. >> extremely unsettling, the phoenix police chief speaks out for the first time about t shocking confrontation between police and a family with young children >> history in hong kong. nearly 2 million protesters stream into the streets, putting any pressure on the city's leaders. >> not everyone is getting a kick out of nike's new shoes why some want to give it the boot "early today" starts right now good morning i'm dara brown >> and i'm frances rivera. y launching his reelection

campaign, president trump is reportedly purging his polsters. the move coming after nbc obtained an internal poll that ow biden in 11 key states the president denied the polling existed during an interview. despite that, the president's reelection campaign is cutting ties with some of its own pollsters in the wake of the leak the president also stirred up some controversy while slamming "the new york times" and the washington post on twitter over their reporting on a story he suggested that his supporters may demand that he stay in office for a third term. nbc's tracie potts joins us with the latest from d.c. tracie, a lot really covered in that interview >> reporter: no question so let's get right to it because it was a wide ranging interview, frances, where he was defiant on the russia investigation, the report, the man behind the investigation. why he didn't fire him but also disbelieving what's been reporte

before announcing his presidential bid tomorrow, president trump is hng economy. >> reporter: and denying internal polls show him trailing former vice-president joe biden. >> i don't believe those polls there's no way he beats me in texas. my polls show that i'm winning ev >> reporter: a fox news poll shows him behind five democrats and our own nbc/"wall street journal" poll shows nearly half the public saying no to impeachment hearings >> we need to at least open an inquiry so we can look at what is going on. >> reporter: president trump denies the mueller report finding that he tried to fire the special counsel. >> he wasn't fired okay number one, very importantly but more importantly, article 2 allows me to do whatever i want. >> reporter: meantime, republicans are both defending and explaining what the president said about taking information from foreign government s before reporting it to the fbi >> this was a mistake to say this i mean, clearly. >> the president said he would report that to the fbi

>> reporter: splitting republicans one day before trying to unify them for the next election. now, rating, according to our nbc/"wall street journal" poll is now at 44% that's down two percentage points from lasto you. >> all right, tracie potts for us tracie, thank you. >> now to escalating tensions in iran, secretary of state mike pompeo doubling down on his claims that iran was behind the attacks. yesterday he appeared on "face the nation," saying that the u.s. is considering, quote, a full range of options. meanwhile, the spokesperson for iran's atomic energy agency announced plans to increase uranium enrichment levels within ten days further breaking compliance with the nuclear deal joining us from teheran is ali arousi what do you make of this >> reporter: this is iran not being able to protect iran from u.s. sanctions they are taking small but

provocative zepz that could have much, much more serious implications in the near future. the atomic energy agency spokesman announced iran will break the uranium ockpile lick its set by the deal in the next ten days the country has quadrupled its production of low and enriched uranium. he said iran would increase the level based on the country's needs, warning iran has a need for up to 20% enriched uranium dara, that's very significant. under the terms of the deal, 3.67% is the limit set by world powers to cap iran's limits. because the first 20% is very tricky to enrich, past 20%, then the road to 90% purity becomes much easier and that put line for getting aucar bomb. iran also gave the european powers until the 7th of july not only to protect their oil sale

and saying if they fail to do that, not only will they suspend uranium enchy water reactor who spent fuel could contain plutonium for a nuclear bomb also today iran's president hassan rouhani in a meeting with the french ambassador said time is running out for the europeans to come up with the goods. dara >> ali, thank you so much for that >> now we turn to theunrest half a world away in hong kong massive protests started a week ago in opposition to legislation that would allow extradition to aman mainland china nbc's janice mackie frayer is there in the thick of it all so, janice, explain the situation there this morning >> reporter: frances, this is a serious ground swell against chinese rule here. people are worried the

extradition law will -- and so yesterday the sea of people, most wring black, many of them are still here today and what's striking about the crowd is how all ages it is. students, families with children, retirees, showing how widespread the opposition is and that's what's putting pressure on hongkong's leader carrie lam who said she would delay passing the law. she even apologized. protesters saying it's too little too late and added her resignation to the list of demands. the protest here in 2014 was released from prison today saying people will be out in force. frances? >> all right, janice mackie frayer for us. thanks >> 44 million people have been left in the dark after a massive power outage hit parts of south america. the failure has left argentina, paraguay and a southern brazil experiencede

interconnected grid to collapse. energy owe fishls say they may not know the cause for another ten to 15 days power is slowly being restored to some areas. >> worshipping in hard hats two months after a devastating blaze tore through the iconic notre dame cathedral the landmark held its first mass it was held in a side chapel and was led by the archbishop op of paris. worshipers had to wear protective head gear for safety reasons. the april 15 blaze called the the spire and part of the roof to collapse. french president emmanuel macron has pledged to restore it in five years >> she is speaking out about her department after officers holding a young family ae imagee disturbing the confrontation happened in may after the couple's daughter allegedly stole a doll from the store. when the family was stopped by police, the situation escalated and now the police chief is

calling the incident unacceptable here is nbc's mollie hunter. >> get out the [ bleep ] car >> reporter: a family held at gunpoint, aisha harper two months pregnant with her two young daughters. >> put your hands up >> i can't [ bleep ], i'm pregnant >> reporter: her fiance handcuffed by another officer. >> i tell you to do something, you [ bleep ] do it. >> i am. >> because of the rage and banging on windows and yelling slurs, i'm going to shoot you in your face. >> reporter: the confrontation in may because police say the parents had stolen from a nearby dollar store the police chief is speaking out. >> i am with everyone in the community who is angry, who is outraged >> reporter: the officers in the video have both been moved to desk duty. >> i know this department is better than that i know our community is better >> reporter: the family now jusa situation like this. >> reporter: jay z has now reached out, offering to help the family with legal expenses,

and the mayor of phoenix tweeting, i reo t this type of behavior to go unchallenged and announcing a community meetinon chief >> at the end of the day, i have to take responsibility and be accountable. >> reporter: mollie hunter, nbc news >> firefighters are battling a massive blaze east of phoenix. the woodbury fire wildfire has been burning over a week and has now grown to over 367,000 acres. fortunately the flames are not a direct threat to any nearby community, but residents say they are being impacted by the massive amount of smoke. the cause of the fire is under investigation. >> nbc meteorologist bill karins is here with our forecast. good morning, bill >> good morning. as a reminder, fire season is already here some people say it isn't a fire season it goes year roundalendar. all right,floos ng for a while w look at little rock, 35 inches of rain. same for knoxville a lot of locations are a foot above for rainfall year to date. guess what, we have more rain, heavy rain heading this week from the ohio valley to the mid-atlantic region. we havilli people under

flash flood watches. again, the rivers have come down a little bit, but the fact we are continuing to get rainfall after rainfall event is not helping. we have 13 million people at risk of severe weather today from washington d.c. to philadelphia the west is dry and warm i desert southwest is about where you should be this time of year. many areas between 100 and 105 take a look at that week ahead forecast, let you know if we have any rain chances in the west once we start getting into this dry season, doesn't usually happen >> all right, bill, thank you. some bizarre surveillanc se

oregon one person pops out, and moments later two more people climb out, each holding a flashlight. it is unknown what they were doing in a sewer, but environmental officials say it is very dangerous was of the low levels of oxygen and the untreated sewage i can't imagine they smelled very good. they're waving at the cars going by can't imagine they smell good coming out >> whatter they doing down there? >> just ahead a thrilling end to the s. on.u.pe team usa cruises past chile as the women's heats up and new special k protein has more, with 15 grams of protein plus extra nutrients to help that protein do more. ( ♪ ) so, what's your more? special k. powering you.

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my teeth have been really sensitive lately. well 80% of sensitivity starts at the gum line, so treat sensitivity at the sourceec. on. ohh your teeth? no, it's brain freeze! got it >> gary woodland held off a serious comeback by brooks koepka to win the u.s. open, his first major championship koepka was gunning for his third straight u.s. open title it was a tough go for tiger woods in his second major since winning the masters earlier this year he finished tied for 21st at 2 under.m is back on the field after a record-setting 13-0 rout of thailand. some criticized them for how

they celebrated the goal they will continue to celebrate no matter the score. nbc's kelley cobiella has how the americans fared against chile. >> reporter: another win for team usa dominating chile, scoring 3-0. in front of a sold-out crowd of more than 45,000 fans. chile put up a fight, though its goalkeeper blocking shot after shot no match for veteran carley lloyd, scoring twice >> great job by the usa. >> reporter: team usa sharply criticized for their 13-goal win over thailand last week, accused of celebrating too much. say they won't tone it down. and neither will their fans. >> well, you know what we have a bunch of proud fans that are walking here on our way to see our national team play. i think that is the language

that everyone speaks >> reporter: the u.s. is still the team to beat, but stiffer competition is closing in fast they face sweden in the northwest coast of france thursday night >> our thanks to kelley for that report go team. well, just ahead, why nuclear disaster site is turning into a tourism hot spot. and a car load of tech troubles for target cnbc sedgwic tell us what went wrong >> but first celebrating birthdays today, rapper kendrick lamar turns 32 tennis great venus williams turned 39. comedian snl joe piscopo is 68 for all of us fan-ilows, singer barry manitu transforming natural essential oils into a fragrant mist. and it gently fills the room. pausing, when it's just right.

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fast forwarding into monday, a parade will be held in toronto for the raptors who won their first-ever nba championship last week after beating the golden state warriors the event is expected to draw up to 2 million fans. >> the mtv movie and tv awards cafornia tonight after being hosted by shazam star. >> 25 years ago today, the car chase that captured the attention of an estimate o.j. simpson led the area in the now infamous white ford bronco >> one of those where were you when you everybody remembers a shopping trip turned into nightmare for many target customers. first goldman sachs says a $140 billion merger in the works. let's turn to cnbc's steve

sedgwick with the latest good morning, steve. >> very good morning, frances. everyone is eyeing the federal reserve decision goldman sachs is going ts into $140 billion bear mark. it will make it a practice tim rtive to investors they invest in real estate and other hard access deals. back to the target story, it wag their card apparently they had to turn to this old thing called cash cash what's cash? one of the data is not terz apparently was not a security related issue. but cash what is the world coming to? final story coming for you, the hbo mini series which has had such acclaim is leading to a boom in tourism of all places chernobyl. 150,000 people are set to go this is 90 miles north of kiev,

a place i've worked many times i'm surprised i haven't thought of going to chernobyl. but everybody is wanting to go there. >> everybody is raving about the docuseries i was talking about it with a coworker something to see, the series and the location steve, thank you >> just ahead, a new music video. plus screen sequels falling flat at the box office. you're watching "early today." i knew that hpv could lead to certain cancers. hp increases as she gets older. i knew there was a vaccine available that could help protect her before she could be exposed to hpv. i knew. so i talked to my child's doctor. now that you know that hpv can lead to certain cancers, don't wait. talk to your child's doctor today.

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come on. >> i'm driving >> it was a disappointing weekend for sequel debuts at the box office men in black international didn't live up to expectations even though it won the weekend with $28.5 million it is the lowest opening for the franchise by more than 20 million. also premiering was a latest shaft film the samuel l. jackson was in 6th place with $8.3 million. it was father's day. they're golfing, picnicking, barbecuing >> let's go back to bill karins for a look ahead >> take a look at this week. you know if a movie comes out, a little late. blockbusters are usually earlier. let's go to the severe storm watch. mid-atlantic region, washington, d.c., baltimore, philadelphia many areas of the west are pretty dry we may see a few scattered showers in the four corners region that's about it. the middle of the week, the parade of storms continues to go from the middle of the country to the east coast.

really nothing exciting, changes in the weather in areas of the west the weekend ends up pretty nice. >> nice, all right b.ill ahead, a sizzling summer jo how you you can travel the country and eat barbecue and you look amazingly comfortable. when your v-neck looks more half-washed.eck...'s when you s try downy fabric conditioner. unlike detergent alone, downy helps prevent stretching by conditioning and smoothing fibers, so clothes look newer, longer. downy and it's done.

(crunch! crunch!) (cwhoosh!m) (sniff sniff) no way sister! try listerine ready! tabs. they turn into liquid as you chew, so you can swish and clean your whole mouth on the go. try listerine ready! tabs and see men in black international in theaters. the lineup being announced for the first democratic debate features 20 capped datuk seri, which is a lot and yet some candidates still didn't make the cut. one of whom something called montana governor steve bullock, took it particularly hard, releasing an ad featuring a disgruntled supporter. >> yeah, i heard the news. dnc saying governor bullock doesn't qualify for the debate that's [ bleep ]

>> what? >> [ bleep ] that's a strong thing there, steve. only slightly undercut by the fact this video has 600 youtube views. if your plea for attention only gets one/44th views of paint drying, that's not -- >> it is a tough go, just way too many candidates out there. >> yes, they're tough to name all of them. well, some nike fans, they are steaming over the company's latest release take a look at this. users on at which timeers criticizing the air max sf 720 saying the women's shoe looks like an iron it's a cross between a sneaker and sandal with plastic sole that two cut outs some say resemble the appliance they are set to release on june 20th >> there are going to be some hard core nike fans who are going to want it anyway, iron or not. >> true. >> last week taylor swift

released her new song "you need to calm down" from her upcoming albuovs people she made the announcement in the tweet saying, asked a few friends to be in the nuh-uh need to calm down video tomorrow. including ellen degeneres, rupaul, ryan reynolds and more she also teased fans with photos of a crown, rainbow colored gown so classic taylor swift. you know that tea setting right there. i see it now >> absolutely. calling all foodies, how would you like to travel across the country and get paid to get your grub on? well, you're in luck because such a position exists reynolds wrap is looking for a chief grilling officer to help find the best barbecue in america. the winner will get $10,000 and the company will also pay for travel, accommodations and food. you must apply by june 19th on reynolds kitchen.com during the

two-week trip, the winner will share tips and photos on the company's website and on social media. >> all right it's for you grill masters out there. >> good gig, i like that >> think seriously when anybody goes near the grill, you're like, this is my domain. >> exactly i'm with you on that >> we thank you for being with us on this monday morning. i'm frances rivera >> and i'm dara brown. be sure to watch us on facebook, twitter and instagram on nbc early. the news continues

i find congress more difficult, frankly, than many of the foreign leaders. >> from presidential powers to the polls, president trump makes waves with a wide ranging interview. the lesson he says he learned from richard nixon >> the shocking showdown caught on camera. the fallout after phoenix police officers held a family at gunpoint >> a target for trouble.

inside the tech woes at one of the nation's biggest retailers over the weekend >> a sizzling summer job how you can get paid to travel the country and eat barbecue "early today" starts right now good morning i'm dara brown >> and i'm frances rivera. one day before officially launching his reelection