i also think we're going pay a little surprise to some of the great patriots that we have out on the street. so i'm not telling anybody but you, but i'm about to make a little surprise visit. >> president trump still battling coronavirus, abruptly leaves walter reed for a brief drive-by to wave to hundreds of supporters on the street, but criticism from hospital doctors and others is erupting this morning, more questions about who may have been exposed to the virus because of the president's travels, including his bodyguard and many others. new york city cracking down.

the mayor calling for parts of the big apple to close back down over an alarming rise in covid cases. one virginia marine got the surprise of a lifetime when a complete stranger went above and beyond to right a wrong. and sure enough, "saturday night live" went there, taking on the debate and the president's battle with coronavirus head-on. "early today" starts right now good morning to you. i'm lindsey riser in for frances rivera. >> and i'm phillip mena. the world's most high-profile coronavirus patient could return to the white house as early as today according to his doctors overnight, the administration released new pictures of president trump working at walter reed medical center where he is undergoing aggressive treatment for covid-19 that was just hours after the president sparked controversy by shrugging off public health guidelines to go and wave to his supporters from an suv the move outraged health experts and even some within the secret service. one secret service agent told "the washington post," quote, he's not even pretending to care

now. a former agent asked, where are the adults a white house spokesman defending the outing saying, quote, appropriate precautions were taken in the execution of this movement to protect the president and all those supporting it. adding that the trip was cleared by the medical team as safe to do before this outing, the president tweeted this video. >> so it's been a very interesting journey. i learned a lot on covid i learned it by really going to school this is the real school. this isn't the let's read the book school. and i get it and i understand it. meanwhile, kellyanne conway's daughter, claudia, revealed on tiktok that she is also battling covid-19, testing positive just days after the former white house adviser announced her own diagnosis. and attorney general william barr is reversing horse, ncours saying he will quarantine for several days after possible exposure to the virus. he initially said he would not quarantine for the latest, let's get to tracie potts outside walter reed this morning

so, tracie, what have we learned about what the president's doing? >> reporter: so, lindsey, we know that the president, according to his doctors, is improving. they say his vital signs are better this was after a scare over the weekend where twice his oxygen levels dropped to unsafe levels. and he was said to have a high fever. this is a different story than we heard initially from the white house, that the president only had mild symptoms he was given supplemental oxygen as a result, we also know that he was given a steroid that's typically reserved for the sickest patients now, the president's doctor, dr. sean conley, explained why he wasn't trying to mislead the media and the public when he said that the president was doing okay >> i was trying to reflect the upbeat attitude that the team, the president, this course of illness has had. didn't want to give any -- any

information that might steer the course of illness in another direction, and in doing so, you know, it came off that we were trying to hide something which wasn't necessarily true. >> reporter: now, the doctors have said that it's possible the president could be released back to the white house today in addition to the steroid, he's also been taking two experimental therapies, and doctors say his treatment will continue at the white house. back to you. >> all right tracie, thank you. this morning questions still swirl over the full breadth of this outbreak. just how many people were exposed to the virus because of the president's travel and public appearances over the past week yesterday we learned about another member of mr. trump's inner circle who tested positive for covid. our jeff bennett has more. >> reporter: the president's personal aide nick luna testing positive for covid-19. according to two people familiar

with the diagnosis as a so-called bodman, luna's job is to accompany the president day and night. luna travelled with president trump to cleveland for last week's debate and to minnesota a day later for a campaign rally the president kept a packed schedule with vanities and travel in the days leading up to his diagnosis. the uptick in positive cases in the president's inner circle now raising the urgency of contact tracing. >> time is of the essence here because if you miss -- if you miss those contacts, you know, those contacts then become infections, which then lead to new chains of transmission. >> reporter: but there is little evidence the white house has reached out. ohio republican governor mike dewine says he's still in the dark following that debate in cleveland. >> well, they have not reached out to me. i know i talked to the ceo of the cleveland clinic the other day who gave me an update, gave me areport, so i don't know whether they've reached out to cleveland clinic or not. >> reporter: and days after that minnesota rally where there was

no social distancing and few masks, a spokesman for the minnesota department of health tells nbc news in a statement "there has not yet been any contact with the white house or rnc at this time." the new jersey health department said it received information to contact trace at least 206 people who attended the president's high-dollar fund-raiser thursday in bedminster earlier sources told nbc news of growing frustration and anger among new jersey officials who had demanded yet hadn't received the contact information they needed the president held the fund-raiser even after learning that close aide hope hicks had tested positive for covid-19, and white house physician dr. sean conley told reporters the president began showing clinical indications of covid on thursday afternoon. nbc news confirming the white house has not sought assistance from the cdc to trace the contacts of people who attended last saturday's rose garden event. at least eight people who attended that event tested positive dr. conley said saturday that

his team was working with the cdc. >> white house medical unit, in conjunction with, you know, in collaboration with cdc and local, state and health departments are conducting all guidelines >> reporter: the spokesman for the white house says they are handling it in house. >> our thanks to jeff bennett for that report. an alarming rise in cases in new york city. mayor de blasio called for new closures to cloe cee lo the spread just days after schools and restaurants opened up for business our kathy park has the latest. >> reporter: new york city is taking an aggressive approach to possibly prevent a second wave by rewinding reopenings in some communities. mayor bill de blasio announced a plan to shut down all nonessential businesses and schools in nine neighborhoods in brooklyn and queens where the positivity rate has stayed above 3% over seven consecutive days the closures, if approved by the state, would go into effect on wednesday, and this would have been a big impact on

neighborhoods with large orthodox jewish populations, which have seen a large uptick in covid-19 cases recently 11 other zip codes in the city are currently on the watch list and could also face setbacks if the numbers continue to trend in the wrong direction. >> all right kathy, thank you. to the nfl now, the eagles and the 49ers capping off the sunday slate of games with a nail-biter 49ers rookie from asu making his prime time debut check out this catch, dodging a flock of eagles and then, whoop, right over that one, hurdling into the end zone, putting san francisco on the board philly would rally down in the fourth, carson wentz airing it out. they would retake the lead the 49ers response here, picked off. a pick-six eagles win it 25-20. around the league, 43-year-old tom brady, he became the oldest quarterback ever to throw five touchdowns in a game the buccaneers would need every last one of them they came from behind to beat the chargers, 38-31.

the browns took a massive 31-14 lead into the fourth quarter against the cowboys. dallas, they weren't giving up, though they rallied they scored 24 points in the quarter. still not enough odell beckham jr. made sure of that with this monster run it would put the game out of reach. cleveland spoiled the day for the boys, 39-38. in las vegas, josh allen had the bills hot in the first quarter against the raiders. vegas stayed in the game with derek carr throwing for a pair of touchdowns, but the undefeated bills too much to handle buffalo undefeated, 4-0. they win the ball game, 30-23. jimmy butler turned the heat up on the lakers in game three of the nba finals. the miami forward had 40 points, 11 rebounds and 13 assists in pivotal game three anthony davis had a big game for the lakers, but got into foul trouble early, which meant jimmy butler took over the game late a couple of clutch shots down the stretch helped seal the deal and the heat get the win,

115-104. miami looks to even the score in game four on tuesday still talking hoop, the storm and the aces battled it out in game two of the wnba finals brianna stewart was hot early and often for seattle. she led the team with 22 points and league legend sue bird had 16 points to go with her ten assists. las vegas tried to keep it close, but they could not weather the storm late seattle wins it, 104-91. they take a 2-0 series lead. they will go for the sweep on tuesday. all right. let talk some weather now. nbc military janessa webb watching the gulf coast as we kick off the week. >> good morning, you go. good morning, everyone the tropics just won't stop. we have two systems that we're watching, and the first one that you really need to keep your eye on is now tropical depression 26 just in the last hour it has really started to intensify, currently just south of jamaica. this storm system, the national hurricane center expects it to

go into the gulf i do think this becomes a tropical storm delta by later on tuesday evening. and then turns into a hurricane going into wednesday evening now, this is aiming towards the northern gulf coast once again right now the cone of uncertainty still very broad, but it does have a landfall late week right nointo new orleansw e highs across new orleans today for bismarck, all the way into the midwest, lower 70s to lower 60s. we'll take a look at that week ahead coming up. >> janessa, thanks so much we'll see you soon. in today's "quick hits" an extreme rare and flawless white diamond will be sold in an historic auction in hong kong. look at that thing, 102.39 carats

it will go on sale today "modern family" star sofia vergara has topped the "forbes" list of the highest paid actresses in the world for 2020. she's also a judge on "america's got talent." she earned a whopping 43 million bucks. pet owners in the philippines had their pets bessed by a catholic priest in a drive-by blessing ceremony for world animal day we'll be right back. made me a little intense. but now i practice a different philosophy. quickbooks helps me get paid, manage cash flow, and run payroll. and now i'm back on top... with koala kai. hey! more mercy. save over 30 hours a month with intuit quickbooks. the easy way to a happier business. vicks vapopatch. easy to wear with soothing vicks vapors for her, for you, for the whole family.

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♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ leading the news, texas attorney general ken paxton is facing a lot of scrutiny this morning. according to a letter obtained by the austin american statesman, some of paxton's top aides are accusing him of bribery and abusing his office seven executives say they've reported the alleged violations to law enforcement the attorney general's office, though, says the complaint was wrongdoing by public officials, including employees of their own office another person has been killed by the exploding takata

air bag inflater this marks the 17th death linked to the air bags in the united states and brings the worldwide death toll to at least 26. honda says it mailed 15 mail recall notices to the owners of the cars but the free repairs were never made. the u.s. government says more than 11 million of the recalled air bags have not been fixed. the proud boys hashtag was trending on twitter but not for reasons you'd think. gay men took over, flooding timelines with lgbtq love. this, of course, comes just days after president trump told the far-right group to stand down and stand by during the debate and then later walked those comments back. twitter feeds exploded with photos of male couples who called themselves "the real proud boys." celebs like george takei, drag week bendelacreme and other forces kicked in enrika tarroi said on parlor that the stunt was an attempt by the far-left to turn the group's name into a slur

new polling showing president trump is down in the crucial state of florida "the new york times" sienna college survey puts biden ahead of trump there by five points. 47% to 42% trump won florida back in 2016 by less than 2%, you may remember nbc's cori coffin is in fort lauderdale for us. they, cori, good morning. >> reporter: phillip, good morning. president trump's team has identified florida as a must-win state his path to re-election. the numbers aren't quite yet adding up, though. he won this state in 2016 by less than 2 percentage points and the latest poll by "the new york times" and sienna college shows he's trailing in florida from joe biden by 5 percentage points that's with a 4.2% margin of error. we're learning voters here in florida largely turned off by the president's divisive debate performance in his first presidential debate. listen in. >> i hope that the next debate is nowhere near the way the first one was.

i'm hoping that each candidate stays on task. answer the questions >> you know, in the debate, he obviously said he wants to be the president for everybody. i think that's very important to kind of reiterate that and just speak to the american people as a whole instead of, you know, specific groups. >> reporter: and when considering whether or not the president's covid diagnosis will affect the vote in florida, there's one main factor to look at, and that is the fact that the president is not going to be able to at least for ten days get out on the campaign trail. that is one key tool in his tool belt for re-election phillip? >> sure is cori, thank you. tonight in miami, nbc's lester holt will moderate a live town hall with joe biden in front of a socially distanced audience that will gives begin at 8:00/7:00 central right here on nbc. up next, still trying to make fetch happen. after 16 years the cast of "mean rnis. and live from new york, it is the new season of "saturday night live." "snl" returns with a star-studded cast.

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the china virus has been very mean to me and being a hoax, and that statement is something that i will probably come back to haunt me later this week >> what -- what is that? where is that coming from? >> mr. president, please stop using a laser pointer. >> oh, it's not -- it's not a laser pointer, it's a wand that cures the covid.

>> that was "snl's" so-called rebroadcast of the debate this weekend, featuring alec baldwin, jim carry and maya rudolph we've been waiting for this ever since they announced jim carry was going to come play joe biden. i wonder if joe biden and kamala harris win the race, they stay for the next four years. >> maybe woody harrelson will come back as joe biden >> much-needed back in studio, too. the original cast of "mean girls" came together after 16 years for a surprise virtual reunion to celebrate "mean girls" day and encourage fans to vote. >> when i was in new york, people were like, you know it's "mean girls" day, i'm like what are you talking about? what do you mean yeah, october 3rd is "mean girls" day, and i've looked it up and it's actually a day >> vote on november 3rd. >> not october 3rd. >> vote! >> vote. >> that would be so fetch. >> since amy -- >> during the reunion moderated by katie curic, the cast opened up about their experiences on

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in today's top stories, a devastating milestone in california more than 4 million acres have burned with or two months left in this fire season. that shatters the previous record of 1.6 million which was set two years ago. the fires have killed at least 31 people this year and destroyed more than 8,000 structures conditions were difficult this weekend for the more than 16,000 firefighters on ground but temperatures are expected to cool this week. while serving a 23-year prison sentence in new york for the rape and sexual assault of two women, harvey weinstein has now been charged with three more

rapes in california. the alleged incidents took place between 2004 and 2005 at the beverly hills hotel. a spokesperson for weinstein says they're not commenting on the new charges. he's facing a total of 11 counts in los angeles prosecutors are seeking to extradite him. a hearing has been set for december 11th. after losing his combat medals in a burglary, a vietnam veteran war hero in virginia got a big surprise reporter drew wilder from nbc washington explains. >> reporter: thomas pulls up to this county sheriff's office and meets with the detective working his case last year thomas and his wife lisa were on vacation when burglars tore through their hom tens of thousands of dollars worth of property. >> jewelry and his -- all of his medals. >> reporter: military medals earned for heroism in combat serving our country. that caught the detective's attention. >> once he found out tom was a marine, then that was the end of

that. >> reporter: detective corona is a retired marine, and thomas doesn't know this yet, but he's called thomas to surprise him and honor his bravery. lieutenant colonel thomas served in the united states marine corps and flew combat missions for the navy in vietnam. >> he didn't just complete his mission and leave. he stayed there under fire until all his marines were lifted off. and that, that is a great american >> reporter: detective corona call the burglars, but could not find his stolen medals so on his own time, using his own money, the detective replaced them. [ applause ] >> brought me to the verge of tears to know that i have this much support in the community and from some good friends i'm still in a state of shock. because i never expected this.

>> reporter: unexpected but earned >> our thanks to drew wilder for that report. all this happened just days before thomas' 84th birthday and we want to wish him a happy one. you can steal himedals bs

a surprise joyride for president trump to thank supporters may have put members of his security detail at risk as medical experts and democrats swiftly criticize the move as insanity. from walter reed president trump is urging congress to pass new coronavirus stimulus members saying, get it done. and we will go inside the breonna taylor grand jury recordings to reveal what went on behind closed doors. got all your week four highlights from around the nfl and the nba and