together, we can save energy and money... by taking steps to stay cool while using less. keep safe and keep it golden. i may be kidding myself, but i think the people are ready i think people are ready we got to keep pushing we can't let up. >> joe biden speaking out as the democratic national convention kicks off with a bevy of virtual speakers we've gothe key moments. president trump hits the road with some countercampaigning of his own as he continues to hammer away at saying universal mail-in ballots are very dangerous. coronavirus is the third leading cause of death in the united states. and as cases rise, the university of north carolina at chapel hill is sending all students home after one week

the break in the cold case murder of a music legend, after 18 years the arrest just announ announced. "early today" starts right now good tuesday morning i'm phillip mena. >> i'm frances rivera. the democratic national convention has begun with much of the first night focused on racial justice in america. >> now more than ever we need a president who will unite this country. we need a president who in george floyd's memory, instead of using the bible as a prop, will heed its words, to act justly >> george should be alive today. it is up to us to carry on the fight for justice. he was always finding ourselves in what john louis called good trouble. >> together we must build a nation that is more equitable, more compassionate, and more inclusive. i know that joe biden will begin

that fight. >> the major theme for the evening seemed to be unity our capitol hill correspondent tracie potts joins us withmore of the night's big moments for a democratic event, we heard from a whole lot of republicans. >> reporter: yes, republicans kicking off the democratic convention, there were four prominent republicans who spoke on this first night, a couple of former governors, a former member of congress, and a ceo who ran for governor, all of them making the case for joe biden and senator kamala harris as his running mate. we also heard in this first night setting the stage from senator bernie sanders, and the keynote for the night, former first lady michelle obama. >> to everyone who supported other candidates in the primary, and for those who may have voted for donald trump in the last election, the future of our democracy is at stake. >> donald trump is the wrong president for our country.

he has had more than enough time to prove he can do the job, but he is clearly in over his head he cannot meet this moment he simply cannot be who we need him to be for us it is what it is >> so as you heard, the last four years were really a big theme in those speeches last night. looking ahead to today, we're going to hear from former president bill clinton, from new york representative alexandria ocasio-cortez and from dr. joe biden, the wife of the presumptive nominee. today will be the official state by state roll call vote for that nomination frances? >> thank you. our special coverage of day two of the democratic national convention begins tonight at 10:00 eastern, 7:00 pacific. hours before the dnc begun, president trump was already on the trail, kicking off a tour in the battleground states of minnesota and wisconsin. wisconsin is a critical swing

state for trump and he wasted no time with attacking joe biden. >> if kamala and biden are ever elected, this recovery will come to a total shutdown to use their word, permanently. millions of americans with his basement strategy, locking everyone in their homes. just make sure your vote gets counted. make sure, because the only way we're going to lose this election is if the election is rigged, remember that. >> joe biden has been leading in recent polls in wisconsin. later today, president trump will make a stop in cedar rapids, iowa, to check out the storm damage and then head to arizona. vaughn hillyard is in phoenix where organizers are working around the clock in 110 degree weather. vaughn, good morning >> reporter: president trump is coming to arizona on tuesday while he's actively campaigning

in the middle of this democratic virtual national convention, there are folks on the ground here that are trying to do that work, that leg work, on behalf of this democratic ticket coune it being 114 degrees, were out knocking on doors, part of the coalition calling themselves nva. the president is in yuma where he's trying to turn out particularly that strong trump support. it could help make up for what is anticipated to be an increased number of particularly democratic voters. this is what is at stake here three months out from the general election in arizona. >> vaughn working in that sweltering heat out there in arizona, thank you as the battle over the post office continues, the attacks

against mail-in in voting, on monday, he called the process very dangerous it comes one day after house speaker nancy pelosi said she's recalling house members from the break to vote on legislation this as the postmaster general louis dejoy is scheduled it testify next monday before congress for more, here's peter alexander. good morning, peter. >> reporter: frances, good morning. president trump said he's pushing to speed up the mail, not slow it down the policy changes implemented by his postmaster general are doing just that, and this morning top democrats are warning the white house is trying to interfere in the election president trump's kicking off a week long campaign swing, wheel escalating his attacks on mail-in voting which experts agree is widely secure. >> this universal mail-in is a very dangerous thing it is fraught with fraud and every other thing that can happen, and we have to be very, very careful and i want to make sure the

election is not stolen >> reporter: concerns keep growing over mail delays, these protests in arizona as the postal service slashed overtime and removed mail processing equipment. moves it says are designed to cut costs and improve efficiency but that could slow the delivery of ballots now, democratic attorneys general in ten states are discussing taking legal action >> doing everything in his power to try and sow doubt and undermine the vote and i won't let him get away with it. >> reporter: speaker pelosi is calling the house back from its august recess to vote on a proposal saturday that would direct $25 billion to the struggling postal service and roll back recent changes to mail operations in a letter to democrats accusing president trump of a campaign to sabotage the election, the president delivering mixed messages while denying he has anything to do with the slow mail delivery. >> we want to make sure the post office runs properly and it hasn't run properly for many

years. >> reporter: but when asked about the impact on the delivery of medications or prescriptions -- >> no, no, the post office is running very well. >> reporter: postmaster general louis dejoy who agreed to testify at a hearing next monday, demonstrators this weekend protesting outside the washington home of dejoy a trump ally who has given more than a million dollars to the president's campaign and as photos emerge that show mailboxes being hauled away, a spokeswoman tells nbc news, they'll postpone removing boxes for 90 days until after the election while they evaluate customer concerns peter alexander, nbc news, the white house. the pandemic reaches new heights and now becoming the nation's third leading cause of death, just behind heart disease and cancer nationwide nearly 5.5 million americans have been infected, over the past week there has been an average of over 51,000 cases per day. the death toll topping 170,000 with the fall semester in full

swing, one major university changes course after more than 100 new infections here's jay gray. >> reporter: on college campuses across the country, the school year starts with parties and problems >> i hate to say i expected it with large amounts of students interacting in person on campus. >> reporter: the university of north carolina announcing all undergraduate in person classes will shift to remote learning, with at least four student housing units now dealing with coronavirus outbreaks. at oklahoma state, 23 have tested positive, quarantined in an off campus sorority house and there are at least 45 confirmed cases at notre dame. >> many of the cases that have been identified to this point all seem to have a common exposure at an off campus gathering. >> reporter: across the nation, the numbers continue to climb. now more than 5 million cases and more than 170,000 deaths

scientists at yale university have developed a new testing procedure, the food and drug administration granting emergency use authorization for saliva direct, an inexpensive saliva-based test that can be self-administered with results available in less than 24 hours. >> this is one of the most significant advances in the six months we have been living with coronavirus. >> reporter: but important new weapon in the fight against the virus that most agree is still far from over. jay gray, nbc news in california, 51 million people are under a heat alert as hot weather fuels wildfires there. death valley hit 130 degrees, that's the hottest temperature recorded on earth in 89 years. on monday, california's governor signed an emergency order to reduce power disruptions during the heat wave. in arizona, new video of a dust storm sunday in phoenix shows a vehicle driving through near zero visibility with the sky

that dramatic color of orange. could it get any hotter? let's check in with nbc meteorologist janessa webb good morning, janessa. >> it possibly could 2020 has thrown some loops here. right now, i looked at forecast for death valley, it is currently 95 degrees people in that area are really having a hard time cooling off it will jump up to 125 for today. also seeing records across phoenix, tucson, 113 for daytime highs. feel like temperature going to be near 120. and that will continue to spark up the fire danger, red flag warnings with fire watches combined with relative humidity. it is now down to 7% also going to see wind gusts u to 2p a

few showers. we're talking about 100 degrees for boise. salt lake city, 104. the feeling of a big time break in the northeast, i'll show you that coming up. >> all right, janessa, thanks. hope the weather cooperates. spacex is preparing a launch for its satellites the falcon 9 rocket is scheduled for liftoff from cape canaveral, weather permitting today's launch will mark the 91st flight for the falcon 9 and the sixth record launch for its re-useable first stage so far the company put nearly 600 satellites into orbit, which will be used to beam high speed internet to anywhere in the world. a confrontation at a texas walmart turns deadly. the trump administration unralsve 60 years of wildlife protecti protection they've really stood the test of time. much like these majestic rocky mountains. which must be named after the... that would be rocky the flying squirrel, mr. gecko sir.

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run dmc's jam master j. u.s. prosecutores say they have indicted two men for the shooting death of jam master j whose real name was jason meisel he was killed inside a recording studio in new york city in 2002. prosecutors identified the alleged suspects as ronald washington and carl jordan authorities allege the two men entered jay's 24/7 studio in search of ten kill grandmothers kilograms of cocaine. texas police say they fatally shot an armed man inside a walmart in the lower rio grande valley of south texas the deadly police encountered happened monday afternoon. authorities say the suspect dressed in all black carried an assault style rifle into the store. then police say the suspect began arguing with the customer and the store was evacuated. officials say they shot the man after he drew a handgun and exchanged fire with police and deputies no other injuries were reported. the trump administration overturned six decades of

protections for a stretch of wilderness in alaska, approving an oil and gas leasing program within an alaskan wildlife refuge that refuge is home to animals like polar bear and caribou and billions of barrels of oil the oil and gas drilling will take place in the wildlife refuges coastal plain and that spans about 1.5 million acres. in new orleans, one passer is using an accommodation to get parishioners to social distance. the pastor hung up signs that say things like jesus set the 5,000 down in rows, but not this one. and you will find me when you seat me, just not in this pew, keep seeking the pastor says he wants to make people smile and i'm sure he's doing that too. >> good pastor, entertaining >> creative. just ahead, skyrocketing into the world's richest list. one tycoon gets a billion dollar boost overnight. ar il"ead, your favorite "sn sts subbing on "agt.

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book two separate qualifying stays and earn a free night. the open road is open again. and wherever you're headed, choice hotels is there. book direct at choicehotels.com. in today's quick hits, "snl" cast favorite kenan thompson will fill in for simon cowell as a judge on "america's got talent." he will join the cast at the judging table as cowell recovers from major back surgery. elon musk is now officially the fourth richest person in the world. the milestone comes after tesla

shares rose by billion musk is now worth almost $85 billion. that's just 15 billion bucks short of mark zuckerberg. soccer's lamar hunt, u.s. open cup has been canceled due to the pandemic. this is the first time the open cup has been canceled in over 100 years. now to wall street, where the coronavirus is having a deep impact on deep dish pizza and home mortgage delinquencies. here to explain, julianna tattlebalm good morning >> reporter: good morning. let's kick off what we're seeing in the mortgage market, federal housing administration mortgage delinquency rates hit the highest level in at least four decades. these are affordable mortgages typically the path that first time home buyers would use to access a mortgage as well as minorities and lower income americans. the delinquency rate for these types of mortgages hit 16% in

q2, that is it compared to 6.7% for conventional loans so this just goes to show the difference the disproportionate impact the crisis is having on different parts of the economy you mentioned the changes that we're going to see to the pizza world. pizza hut will be closing up to 300 franchises operated by bankrupt franchisee npc international. they will be also putting the remaining 927 pizza hut locations up for sale. the company filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy in early july the closing pizza huts are the ones that are underperforming. back to you guys. >> a staple of a lot of people's childhoods, thank you. janessa is tracking summer heat on the way for the east coast. thousands of people trapped after heavy ins igreratrged that mudslide the kitchen ♪ ♪ family, running through the yard ♪ ♪ family, all four seasons ♪ family, well bless your heart ♪ ♪ family, all in this together ♪

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as school districts grapple with reopening safely, some are finding solutions by thinking outside the box. here's jeff bennett. >> reporter: as schools across the country scramble to reopen safely, this school in montgomery county, maryland, has found a solution in its own backyard it is moving all fall classes outdoors >> the data shows that being outdoors drastically decreases the chances of transmission. rolling hills, wooded trail. >> reporter: alicia davis enwright is head of school, serving children ages 2 to 12, armed with a masters degree in

public health, she weighed reopening options and concluded outdoor schooling was the safest pointing to studies that indicate coronavirus transmission rates are lower in outdoor settings than in indoor settings, especially when combined with social distancing. to prepare for the coming year, enwright and her staff created model outdoor classrooms with small tents and tables, larger ones are on the way. tents will stay open at all times to allow for maximum air circulation. occupancy will be limited to no more than 15 students and children will wear masks outdoor education during a pandemic isn't new, it was common during tuberculosis outbreaks. denmark already pushed many classes outside. now a small but growing number of u.s. schools are embracing outdoor schooling. including charlestown playhouse, a preschool and kindergarten near philadelphia. the school plans to stay outside until the end of the year, and has asked parents to dress

children accordingly >> there is no bad weather only bad clothing. and we shared with the families that their children need to be dressed for the weather. >> reporter: eric miller is sending his two daughters to the school >> they can build things, they can dig holes, they can play with bugs. my kids always are better behaved after a day outside than they are after a day inside watching the ipad. >> in our very computerized world, sometimes we need to realize that the safer, better place is in open air. >> reporter: educators excited to bring students a classroom that takes learning outside the box. and teachers at that maryland school tell me they're excited for the coming academic year enrollment at both schools has more than doubled. jeff bennett, nbc news >> no choice but send them outdoors and looks fun. >> as long as you have the space and the weather holds up going to be a problem for some once the weather turns again. >> very important. thanks for starting your day with us. i'm phillip mena.

>> i'm frances rivera. our plan your vote guide has everything you need to know about casting a ballot in the 2020 presidential election see where your state stands on voting rules, plus read up on deadlines, restrictions and more visit dear california... we know these are challenging times. rest assured, you are not alone. we've all had to adapt. and with summer here, your energy bills might go up with rising temperatures. together, we can save energy and money. try closing your shades during the day... setting your ac to 78° or higher... or cooling off with a fan when you can. united we are always stronger. stay well, california, and keep it golden.

(woman chattering) - [narrator] ordering dinner for the family? (family gasps) rewarded with a side of quiet. (baby murmuring) grubhub rewards you, (scooter horn honking) get a free delivery perk when you order. (doorbell rings) - [group] grubhub. it looped around the canyon. >> right now at 4:30, nervous homeowners are watching the wildfires closely on both ends of the bay area. next, complete coverage on all of the fires still burning this morning with no end in sight. >> plus, happening today from san francisco to dublin, the democratic congressional leaders are rallying for the post office, and that is not all. up next, the action that a group of voters is taking today. >> and plus, all new for you this morning, another grim milestone that covid-19 is making on america. new for you this morning, where