kicking off your week with a massive piece of legislation that is 755 pages, costs $430 billion and claims to combat climate change and extend health care coverage. but does iactually fulfill its title, inflation reduction act after multiple negative covid tests, today president biden will travel to kentucky to survey the devastation in the wake of last week's flooding to ukraine, where explosions at a nuclear plant are sending shivers throughout the region

and catastrophic warnings if bombings are not stopped the search is on for a possible serial killer authorities in new mexico have linked four murders and believe they have a pattern. and can you tell the difference between the name brand foods and the grocery store brands well, our taste test is just ahead. "early today" starts right now good morning i'm erin o'hearn >> and i'm phillip mena. after testing negative for two consecutive days, president biden has left his second covid isolation. he suffered a rebound case after taking paxlovid when he tested positive more than two weeks ago. well, today he'll be heading to eastern kentucky with the first lady, dr. jill biden, to tour the damage left behind from last month's deadly floods. the president has increased federal funding to kentucky to ensure the government will fully cover debris and other emergency measures the bidens will join kentucky governor andy beshear, his wife

brittany in visiting the families affected by the devastation. they will also survey response efforts. governor beshear has been to the region multiple times speaking with those impacted. at least 37 people have died due to the disaster. two people are still missing now to a major win for the president and his party. after a weekend vote-o-rama the vice president breaking a 50-50 senate tie to pass what could become the biggest spending bill ever approved to fight climate change nbc's ali vitali has more. >> it's been a long time in coming >> reporter: an evening of celebration for democrats. [ cheers ] >> big win >> reporter: passing their signature health care, economic and climate bill after an all-night marathon of procedural votes that stretched well into sunday afternoon >> and vote after vote after vote, we have done this with no sleep. >> reporter: vice president kamala harris breaking a tie on the bill that.

>> also allowing medicare to directly negotiate with drug companies which can lower the cost of prescription drugs for seniors. and raising the corporate tax for companies worth over $1 billion. >> in legislation is a baby step forward. it gubts r doesn't go as far as it should. >> reporter: president biden finally leaving isolation after his second negative covid test applauding the bill as what he ran for president to do, make government work for working families again the linchpin senators at the center of these talks, joe manchin and kyrsten sinema, celebrating the win and earning praise for their work. >> a caucus running from bernie sanders to joe manchin wow. and i give such credit to my caucus >> reporter: republicans, meanwhile, unified in opposition, warning about spending against the current economic backcrop. >> joe biden's pushed us and these plans are pushing us into a recession. >> reporter: also cutting a

provision that would have capped insulin prices for americans not on med skair >> life-saving medicines do no good if people can't afford them >> regardless of an election the american people are being seen and they're being heard. >> reporter: now house democrats on deck set to return from their august recess friday to pass the bill before sending it to president biden's desk democrats are already up with new ads touting this bill's selling points in key battleground states of arizona, georgia and nevada, a sign of just how eager they are to rally voters around this win but of course republicans are too. and they see plenty to attack democrats on here ahead of the midterms >> all right, ali, thank you so much for that report we turn now to ohio, where a mass shooting has left nine people injured cincinnati police said eight men and a woman were shot early sunday morning the university of cincinnati medical center said that the nine victims have all been released from the hospital police said one officer fired a shot, although it's unknown whether it hit the shooter

officials there praising the first responders at the scene. >> this happened in front of officers officers acted without hesitation they acted precisely they were diligent in what they did, courageous. i commend those officers >> cincinnati police believe there were two shooters at the scene. so far no arrests have been made well, police in albuquerque, new mexico fear that a serial killer may be targeting the city's muslims since november four men have been shot and killed, and they were all muslim of south asian descent. after the most recent murder on friday the police are now saying the cases may be related during a press conference state and city officials denounced the killings and expressed support for the muslim community >> to the albuquerque islamic community and frankly that community statewide, i am

incredibly angry about this situation. >> we are truly one albuquerque, and this is yet another test where we're going to demonstrate that that's the case >> and authorities are asking the public to help find a dark-colored four-door volkswagen jetta sedan seennea at least one of those crime scenes now, president biden tweeted about the killings saying, "these hateful attacks have no place in america." ukraine is condemning russian attacks on the largest nuclear power plant in europe. the country's president, volodymyr zelenskyy, called the shelling nuclear terror that warrants more international sanctions. experts warn the attacks could lead to a catastrophe. nbc's morgan chesky is on the ground with the latest >> reporter: global alarm over explosions at europe's largest nuclear power plant, now operating under russian control. the weekend rocket attack destroying high-voltage wires, forcing ukrainian workers to limit output at one of the

plant's six reactors ukraine says the risk of hitting the zaporizhzhia plant, nearly twice the size of chernobyl, is allowing russia to shell cities without retaliation. ukraine's president outraged >> translator: this is the largest nuclear power plant on our continent, and any shelling of this factory is an open, brazen crime, an act of terror >> reporter: but russia released this video, claiming they show damage inflicted by ukrainian forces nearby shelling so intense inspectors fear they can't assess the damage. nbc's josh lederman spoke to the head of ukraine's nuclear energy company. >> is there a risk of a major nuclear incident >> for sure. this all depends on where it will be actually pointed >> reporter: he said should a rocket strike the wrong place it could be a radiation catastrophe. meanwhile, volunteers in the city of poltava helping equip ukrainian soldiers katarina obcharenko and her team

paefg special camouflage for front line fighters. anything to give an edge >> so you're not just handing out food and first aid kits. you're making silencers right here in poltava. >> yes >> and this is given to a ukrainian sniper or someone on the front lines. >> yes for free >> for free? >> yes, for free >> i can imagine the waiting list for one of these -- >> yeah, we have quite a lot of people waiting for this stuff. >> reporter: ukraine says at least one employee was injured in an explosion saturday when they were struck by shrapnel however, officials say all of the reactors appear to be operational and as of right now there's no leak in radiation morgan scchesky, nbc news, poeltava, ukraine. and award-winning actress jessica chastain is showing her support for ukraine, traveling to the country to meet with president zelenskyy. the president, a former actor himself, and other ukrainian officials greeted the "eyes of tammy faye" star at the presidential palace in kyiv, sharing the meeting on telegram,

zelenskyy said in part, "thanks to this the world will hear, know, and understand the truth about what is happening in our country. now, according to reuters chastain also is expected to visit a children's hospital. now to our weather and the flooding potential for millions as we start this new week. nbc meteorologist michelle grossman has the details for us. hi there, michelle day but also tomorrow. we have numerous spots across the country where we see some flash flooding from the southwest into the midwest, also parts of the central appalachians into the northeast. so flash flooding is a concern, particularly where you see this pink on the map. portions of iowa also wisconsin into illinois, and we're also watching heavy rainfall once again in our flood-ravaged areas in parts of the central appalachians we're going to be watching that closely as well. where you see the darker colors there is where we're expecting the heaviest amounts of rain one, two, even three inches of rain and kind of notice the portions

where we see kentucky, also west virginia, tennessee, where we do not want to see the rain, already saturated soil we're going to see that. also the northeast and parts of new england as well. cold front bringing the flooding rains acroecord-breaking temperatures in the northeast yesterday. 95 today in philadelphia 93 in d.c. and 93 in richmond all right. the heat continues we're looking at dangerous heat in portions of the northeast once again also the pacific northwest we'll talk about that coming up. >> all right, michelle, talk to you then in a trump versus desantis match-up who comes out on top? a revealing new poll next. plus new details surrounding a $2 million smash and grab at a bronx wey jelrstore. we're back in just 60 seconds. o.

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leading the news, in galveston, texas four people are dead and two critically injured after an alleged drunk driver slammed his suv into a golf cart 45-year-old miguel espinoza has been charged with four counts of intoxication manslaughter. investigators say he failed to yield at an intersection two of the dead and one of the injured are children former president trump might have lost in 2020 but he is still the top pick for the 2024 ticket among conservatives he handily beat the competition in the annual straw poll at the conservative political action conference. drawing 69% of the vote. florida governor ron desantis was a distant second with 24%. but here's the thing without mr. trump in the race that number jumped to 65%. during his speech on saturday he hinted at a 2024 run, saying, he

may have to do it again. now to a brazen smash and grab in broad daylight four men made off with more than $2 million worth of jewelry from a bronx star nypd crimestoppers video shows a man getting buzzed into the shop and holding the door for three masked thieves the trio then used a hammer to break open display cases before making off with the massive haul nypd is offering $3500 to anyone with information on the men seen in that video. still to come here, "bullet train" pulls into the top spot at the weekend box office. how much the new brad pitt thriller pulled in and it's the battle of the brands s meut generic versuna brands to the ultimate test. we'll be right back. insurance and save even more? yeah, home, car, motorcycle, all bundled together. just like that breakfast burrito. so, can i get chorizo? uh, yeah, uh, metaphorically, yeah. carnitas! just chicken — just give me a bunch of chicken. or bacon? oh wait, there isn't too much hot sauce, is there?

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>> i'll ruin your life the way you ruined mine. >> dude, i don't even know you >> "bullet train" earned the top carriage at the box office in its opening debut weekend. the action flick starring brad pitt pulled in a $30.1 million freight. and soaring in as runner-up is d.c. league super pets, scoring just over $11 million in its second week. jordan peele's thriller "nope" brought home the bronze with 8.5 million. rising grocery prices are forcing a lot of us to change the way we shop for food and many consumers are turning to cheaper, store brand products in order to save money but that can prompt a lot of debate in families over whether or not generic brands taste just as good as their brand name counterparts our savannah sellers worked with researchers to put different products to the test >> reporter: up and down the supermarket aisles shoppers are looking to save a quick buck >> if it's cheaper and it's the same thing, then why wouldn't i buy it >> reporter: with prices of groceries up 12% in the last

year, more and more people are ditching brand names for generic store products >> most things like let's say a bag of chips or mac and cheese are you totally cool with the store brands >> every time. >> there are a couple of things i don't do store brand for like heinz ketchup and things like that, but i think the savings you're getting is not worth the taste. >> reporter: sure, they're saving money but at what price we headed to the sensory lab at ohio state university where professor chris simons runs taste tests for major companies. >> the idea is to get consumer feedback as companies are developing products to see how well products are liked, how they're preferred over potential competitors. >> okay. ready? >> yes >> all right >> reporter: we asked them to test four common brand name products against their store made counterparts. 33 volunteers took part. >> i like the way these look but these definitely taste better. >> reporter: the samples are prepared in a kitchen, then sent through a trap door to the participants first up, potato chips >> they tasted almost a little

like they've been out for a while. >> oh. so we have a clear favorite. >> yeah. 359. the winner >> reporter: the verdict 48% of respondents preferred lay's original chips while 36% preferred the target version. virtually a tossup next came cereal >> everyone has their own different opinion. you can tell this one's a bit more dry >> okay. >> this is more bland than the first one. >> reporter: here cheerios was the clear winner, preferred by 70%, compared to just 12% picking the walmart brand. then came peanut butter. >> i'm trying to see like what's the nutty flavor of it i think i do like this one more. 568. but they're both good. >> reporter: 39% preferred giant eagle's store brand compared to 36% for jif, a virtual tie >> go ahead and hit next >> reporter: i joined for the next part of testing >> this is a feel thing. >> this is the feel thing. that's right >> reporter: which facial tissue

would get my vote? >> all right feel different >> oh. >> so normally you wouldn't sort of necessarily be aware of those kind of dramatic differences right? but when you have -- >> this one is way softer. >> okay. do you have a preference >> 491 >> reporter: kleenex the resounding winner. 67% preferred their tissues while only 18% picked target's version. the testers were surprised to learn how they voted >> cereal, name brand. >> knew it >> you went cheerios >> yeah. all the way. >> peanut butter generic! >> really? >> there you go. >> no way! >> reporter: so are we conditioned to like certain brands more than others? >> coca-cola, right? it has a very unique flavor profile. it's different from pepsi. it's different from some of the generic brands you know, i'm going to continue to buy that because that's the profile that i like. >> reporter: but at the end of the day researchers say the differences may be little to non-existent >> yeah, so in certain cases for

generic brands it's just the name brand that's making them. they're just slapping a different name on it when it comes out of the pipe. >> reporter: a little food for thought next time you visit the grocery store. savannah sellers, nbc news, columbus, ohio >> makes sense kleenex and toilet paper, though, are the two things you can't go cheap on. >> exactly right michelle tracking some dangerous heat for over 50 million americans, next. and a son's heartwarming gift to his mother at a time when she really needed it the most you're going to want to see this story. our flea and tick meds. it's not peanut butter. i know, i know. but every time the box comes, we get the peanut butter. yes, because mom takes the meds out of the box and puts them in the peanut butter. sounds like we're getting peanut butter. yes, but that is the chewy pharmacy box. ♪ the peanut butter box is here. ♪ ♪ the peanut butter box is here ♪ alright, i'm out. pet prescriptions delivered to your door. chewy. did you know there are surfaces in your home that look clean

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this is the gillettelabs with exfoliating bar. the bar in the handle removes unseen dirt and debris ahead of the blades, for effortless shaving in one efficient stroke. welcome back on this monday. we're continuing to track that dangerous heat from the pacific northwest to the south central states into the northeast. once again the northeast broke so many records yesterday. maine, vermont also in massachusetts. 54 million people under a heat alert. and we're looking at temperatures feeling like 100 degrees in so many spots new york city you're going to be at 92 this afternoon feeling more like 98 back to you guys >> michelle, thanks. a gift from a son to his mother

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la la la la la. now to a story about the love between a mother and her child. a son who gave his mom an incredible gift during one of the hardest moments of her life. here's nbc's kate snow >> look at this hair, huh? >> reporter: this is so much more than just a hair appointment for melanie shaha. >> hey, matt shaha >> reporter: it's a moment years in the making, all thanks to her son matt >> it was absolutely remarkable. >> reporter: for nearly 20 years melanie has been battling a

benign brain tumor four years ago she started radiation treatment, which caused her to lose all her hair. >> my hair is not going to return >> reporter: the tumor and the treatment took not just a physical toll but an emotional one as well. >> it was hard i don't mind being sick, but i do mind looking sick >> i could tell that the most recent radiation kind of took a toll on her. she would make more comments on her appearance >> reporter: that's when an idea came to him, when his family was commenting that he needed a haircut. >> i jokingly said, well, what if i just kept growing it to make a wig for you, mom? and then it clicked. >> reporter: it took two years for matt to go from this to this, growing an extra 12 inches of hair. . >> it was a no-brainer for a mom like her absolute no-brainer. >> oh, man >> reporter: this march it was time to take it all off, as melanie looked on. >> i never xwpexpected it to me as much as it did to me. when it happened, when we had

cut it off, it was very real it was very emotional. >> what were the feelings? >> just so emotional, that he went two years and gave a gift like that. sorry. it's very emotional. very touching. >> i love you. >> they sent it off and weeks later a wig came back. it had been nearly five years since melanie had been to a hairstylist. >> when you saw yourself with the wig on, what did you think >> knowing it's matt's hair, you know, it was really spectacular. >> my mother has given everything for me growing up, and this is giving such a small thing back, you know, compared to what she's given me in life >> reporter: for his mom there was nothing small about this gift >> it's such a great gift. to have your son see you with compassion you know, and knowing you needed

that feels lovely, to be loved and seen that way. >> it's so touching. and since melanie's hair won't come back and wigs don't last forever, matt told me that he is ready to grow out his hair again if she needs him to. wlak to yo >> it'u.

it's called the inflation reduction act, which allocates $300 billion in spending to tackle climate change and boost clean energy it increases taxes on large corporations and puts hundreds of billions of dollars toward deficit reduction. but that is not all. a tentative cease-fire is in place at the moment after days of attacks between palestinian militants and israel new york city's mayor firing back after migrants from texas were bused to the big apple at