and even t would you press it? former president donald trump's longtime go-to financial guide, the cfo of the trump organization, accused of skirting $1.7 million in taxes over former president and his family? taking on chief. joe biden and the first lady descended on surfside to deliver a message and to spend time with those grieving at the collapsed condo. the eye-popping $850 million settlement between the boy

scouts and victims of sexual abuse. is it even close to enough princes william and harry put aside their alleged differences as they came together to honor their mother on what would have been her 60th birthday and the daring climber who climbed three epic mountains in just 24 hours. "early today" starts right now good morning, i'm lindsey reiser >> and i'm phillip mena. the legal battle is just getting underway for the former president trump's company. prosecutors rolled out criminal charges yesterday against the trump organization and its financial chief allen weisselberg. the 15 counts focus on an alleged tax scheme to help executives avoid paying taxes. here's hallie jackson. >> reporter: the trump organization's longtime cfo appearing in handcuffs, indicted along with the company that bears the former president's name, accused of what prosecutors called a sweeping and audacious tax fraud scheme they allege the trump organization over the last 15

years paid top execs off the books, giving out fringe benefits like cars, apartments, and tuition, amounting to for allen weisselberg an extra $1.7 million in compensation, which should've been taxed instead, prosecutors say weisselberg evaded some $900,000 in federal, state, and local taxes and got more than $100,000 in refunds he was never owed the defendants facing 15 counts ineading not guilty. >> i believe the political forces are just that. it's politically driven. >> reporter: in a statement donald trump himself, who was not charged, calling the investigation a continuation of a political witch hunt by the radical left democrats with new york now taking over the assignment prosecutors prebutting that argument in court, telling the judge it's not about politics. this investigation, which is ongoing has been thorough,

careful, and proper. multiple people familiar with the investigation say the manhattan district attorney and new york attorney general general's offices had been looking to secure cooperation from weisselberg in potentially building a case against former president trump. a charge in which they have not been successful so far >> i don't think there's any questions that the d.a.'s office very much wanted to get allen weisselberg to testify against either or both the trump organization or donald trump but sometimes it really takes bringing the indictment and having him stare it in the face for reality to set in. >> the former president donald trump could still potentially end up indicted, a development that might take months or years if it happens at all he's also facing other separate investigations related to, for example, his conduct surrounding the january 6th riot at the capitol and his efforts to overturn georgia's election results. lindsey, back to you officials in florida are considering demolishing the rest of the champlain towers south

and surfside they're concerned the building's stability could pose a risk to the search and rescue efforts. work at the site resumed last week after a shutdown earlier in the day. nbc's jay gray is following the latest for us. >> reporter: president biden on the ground in south florida. >> what you're doing here is incredible, having to deal with uncertainty, worrying about, you know, the families >> reporter: thanking first responders and rescue teams who were pulled from the mountain of rubble for the first time since the collapse >> we were forced to halt operations on the collapse in the early hours of the morning due to structural concerns about the standing structure >> reporter: engineers on site say a large column hanging from what's left of the tower has shifted as much as 12 inches and has the potential to fall and compromise support columns they've also seen shifts in the flooring and parts of the debris pile the pause frustrating for crews, acknowledging just after the

collapse they heard cries for help coming from the wreckage. >> they were searching for a female voice is what we heard for several hours, and eventually we didn't hear her voice anymore. >> the whole nation is mourning with these families. they see it every day on television they're going through hell, and those that survived the collapse as well as those who are missing loved ones >> reporter: the president and first lady spending hours with the families of the victims and those still missing, bringing with them the promise of help and the prayers of a nation. jay gray, nbc news, surfside the coronavirus delta variant is spreading more and more by the day. the cdc says cases of the delta variant, which were first discovered in india, rose 10% this week. experts say vaccines do work well against all the variants in the united states, but the country's lagging vaccination rate coupled with the spread of the highly contagious variant could account for that increase.

nbc's tom costello has more. >> reporter: after months of progress in dramatically slowing the spread of covid, signs of trouble. the cdc reports a 10% increase in new cases in just one week. 25% of those linked to the new delta variant, which the cdc director says is highly transmissible and will likely soon be the dominant variant >> it is clear that communities where people remain unvaccinated are communities that remain vulnerable >> reporter: while 67% of americans 18 and older have now received at least one shot, many states in the south and midwest are well below that mark those with the lowest vaccination rates at or below 50%, alaba virgin islands, louisiana at ippi at just 46%. in a thousand counties where the new covid variant is spreading, vaccination rates are under 30%. 43-year-old joshua garza's decision not to get vaccinated nearly killed him.

a diabetic, he soon contracted covid, was rushed to a hospital in houston, and eventually required a double lung transplant to save his life. >> it's the worst decision i've ever made in my life i had to say good-bye to my parent and my family and my son and that's something you should never have to do >> reporter: he was released after nearly four months in the hospital the cdc reports 99.5% of all covid-19 deaths involve people who have not been vaccinated >> the science is clear, the best way to protect yourself against the virus and its variants is to be fully vaccinated >> reporter: vaccination rates are especially low among 18 to 26-year-olds, a big reason many colleges are requiring students to get their shots the boy scouts of america have reached an historic settlement with victims of sexual abuse the $850 million in compensation will go to roughly 60,000 people

who brought abuse claims against the organization dating back to the '60s victims praised the deal while the scouts called it a significant step forward the organization has said that 90% of the claims against the scouts occurred more than 30 years ago. in a statement the organization notes the agreement will let them move toward emergence from bankruptcy the scouts filed for chapter 11 last year amid mounting legal costs. howard university's disavowing comments made by its brand new dean of arts after tweeting a sympathetic message about bill cosby after he was abruptly released from prison this week the university now says the tweet lacked sensitivity towards survivors of sexual assault. rashad played cosby's tv wife on "the cosby show. she supported him. cosby has always denied any wrongdoing soon after cosby's conviction was overturned, rashad

celebrated the decision, but her tweet now appears to have been deleted after facing that large wave of backlash rashad later said that she fully assault coming forward, adding, quote, my heartfelt wish is for healing. looks like britney spears may be one step closer to finally being free the wealth management firm assigned to spears' conservatorship has filed a position to resign the firm says when they entered into the agreement they were told that the singer's conservatorship was voluntary. but after being made aware of spears' demand to terminate it, they say they want to respect her wishes a landmark ruling on voting rights by the supreme court could reshape how we vote. civil liberties groups say it'll make it harder to challenge dozens of restrictions being passed by republican lawmakers hee williams >> reporter: in a major test of the landmark voting rights act,

the supreme court upholds arizona voting restrictions. democrats said both made it harder for minorities to vote. but by a vote of 6-3 with the court's liberals descending, justice sammel alito's said they don't cross the line even if they create small disarts in voting as long as the state has some justification for them. but in a blistering dissent, she said the ruling weakens the voting rights act, a law that stands as a monument to america's greatness and protects against its basic impulses the court now leaves few legal weapons to challenge new voting restrictions recently passed in nearly 20 states >> there's really nol of the man

significantly weakened or eliminated >> reporter: the last nine justices to step down for something other than health reasons announced their plans on or before the court's last decision day so that suggests that justice stephen breyer will be around next term. let's go ahead and turn to the weather and what's ahead on this holiday weekend janessa webb is joining us now i hope there's some relief in sight, especially for the pacific northwest. >> yeah, if you're across the pacific northwest, if your coastal area is finally getting a break, i know tough conditions, the farther inland you go we still have alerts and they're going to stick around throughout next week billings today, 100 degrees across the rockies widespread heat, very unusual for this time of year, nearly 30 degrees above average. also launching more storms and rain that's going to be in the forecast from the mid-atlantic all the way to new york city, if you're traveling hitting the

highways, definitely watching out for so minor fmeloe digits finally some breathable air for seattle today. high of 81opical storm elsa hasd some strength. we'll talk about that coming up. >> janessa, thank you. we'll see you soon it was a beautiful day for a royal reunion in the uk. brothers harry and william meeting on what would have been their mother's 60th birthday they unveiled a new statue of princess diana the statue shows diana with three children representing the generational impact of her work. "early today" is back in two with the billionaires blasting off for a new kind of a milesto.

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leading the news, billionaires richard branson and jeff bezos are in a race to space. virgin galactic announced plan to launch richard branson on july 11th. that's before bezos is set to blast off with blue origin on july 20th. it'll be virgin galactic's fourth test space flight and first mission to carry a crew of four aboard after launching its most recent flight back in may with just two pilots branson said that the company is set to open space. pinterest becomes the first major app to ban weightls advertisements >> reporter: an aspirational website making changes to

inspire a healthier outlook on body image and mental health pinterest is banning any advertisement containing weightloss language or imagery, language o idealizes certain body types the company citing a steep rise in eating disorders during the pandemic and the pressure of socializing again now. experts say it can be an important step >> the images that people see are often unhealthy in these advertising, the messages are sometimes unhealthy as well. and i think this is a strong step for pinterest because i think it sends a message to consumers that pinterest cares about their wellbeing. >> reporter: pinterest has already banned similar marketing ads, appetite suppressant pills and procedures like liposuction or fat burning in 2019 it stopped promoting wedding photos shot at former slave plantations.

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but also with better job prospects. but the tightness in the labor market still suggests there is a challenge getting people back to work the average hourly rages, there are concerns about a tickup in inflation. we are expecting to see a 0.3% jump on month. now if returning to work is not cutting it for you, you may want to enter this epic vacation get way from ihg it is offering one u.s.-based traveler to stay 12 months rent free in any property you can enter by instagram or submit a photo you may just have to know it is the base rate room, but you can tap into the bungalows >> you got to wait till the commercial break to sign up online thanks, karen. coming up, janessa's

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ahhh i'm not dressed for that. when you want the real deal... like a good neighbor, state farm is there. climbing one mountain would be a difficult enough task for most people but what about three in the same day? well, a man in oregon did just that reporter devin haskins from our reporter affiliate kgw has his extraordinary story. >> reporter: three mountains in 24 hours start mount hood, adams, and then capping it all off with mount st. helens. hey, devin, how are you doing? >> good. >> sorry, i was laying down back

there, and this is my team >> reporter: it's just after 11:00 in the morning i met jeff cramer in the parking lot at the southbound trail of mount adams. the 52-year-old is getting ready to summit his second mountain of the day. just hours prior he climbed mount hood, climbing more than 5,700 feet in elevation. >> i did great i did 310 cccx to the summit. >> reporter: this climb is more than 650 feet up why are you doing this >> i don't know. i got a good lady behind me and she's giving me inspiration, and i've had the idea for about ten years. >> reporter: cramer has limited time so we talk while he's getting ready. because in order to do all three climbs in 24 hours, he has little to no time to spare and, unfortunately, when you're rushed, not everything goes as planned. >> oh, no, i just broke it >> reporter: he quickly adapts

and makes due with a broken strap. >> are we running on this first section? yeah, i don't like to run, no. you guys ready to go >> reporter: and just like that he's off and running i can barely keep up he supplemmited adams in just f hours. almost 5,000 feet to go yet on mount st. helens >> i love exercise and i do it, but it's about the skiing. that's how we got into tracked on a he has climbed all three mountains before, but never in the same day until this day. devin haskins, kgw news. >> he did it to impress a woman. >> relatable

thanks for starting your friday with us. i'm lindsey reiser >> i'm phillip mena. one more thing before we go. you know how kids sometimes they toss aside that new toy and instead play with the box? well, check out this panda cub in northwest china her handlers say that she is absolutely obsessed with her new toy, that wicker basket there. please, everybody, have

lugo-romero. right now at 4:30 a potential fireworks fiasco for tonight's oakland a's game. the battle with bart that could leave some stranded. two shootings scenes in two hours, prompting one chief to double down on his request to city leaders, the tools he says he needs. added resources this fire season, the boost for funding first responders giving thanks for one commitment to one east bay city. "today in the bay" starts right now.

>> very good friday morning to you. i'm laura garcia. >> i'm marcus washi