continues to scorch much of the country. michelle is tracking it all for us. taking the war in ukraine to russia's turf. the kremlin's response to the

latest drone attack de moscow. will court dates collide with the campaign trail? the growing legal woes for former president donald trump as he pulls ahead in the race for the republican nomination. e cdc's war on the wes nile virus, we go inside the lab where scientists study the spread of mosquitos and why they're becoming resistant to insecticides. run away bride and groom, why more couples are saying i do to destination wedding "early today" starts right now good morning, happy monday, i'm jessica layton. >> great to be with you, i'm frances rivera we begin with coast to coast extreme weather. a fast moving storm ripped across the east coast this weekend hitting the washington, d.c. area with powerful wind and torrential rain. a 43-year-old father of two died in virginia when a tree fell onto his home. another storm knocked out power to homes in tucson, arizona,

where they are still dealing with record high temperatures. michelle grossman will join us in just a moment with where the severe weather threats are today. with less than a month before the first gop presidential debate the wide range of candidates continue to struggle to make even a dent in the armor of former president donald trump, even as he prepares for more legal trouble. for much more on this we go to nbc's brie jackson in washington this morning good morning so what does the republican primary look like as we now move into august? >> reporter: good morning. so far seven republican candidates have met the requirements to take the stage for the first gop presidential debate in milwaukee on august 23rd while former president donald trump is unsurprisingly among that group, he has yet to confirm his participation for the event. at a rally in erie, pennsylvania, on saturday he even crowd sourced the question of his attendance. >> should i get up there with 10 or 12 hostile people in a

hostile network and be abused with terrible questions? should we do the debate? >> and whether or not he appears at the debate, the former president will likely have his plate full with legal issues following last week's superseding indictment in the classified documents case all eyes are on special counsel jacs inveion into 2020 elon interferen trump's rivals continue to tread carefully criticizing him over his legal entanglements on cbs on sunday nikki haley warned against renominating trump, saying that his numerous indictments and investigations could serve as a distraction for the gop in the election. one group of people displaying apathy or outright hostility towards trump's reelection bid are his former employees nbc news reached out to 44 of

the former president's cabinet members, while many declined to comment, only four have gone on record saying that they would back trump in 2024 >> brie, what about president biden, have any of these candidates started to lay out their case against him >> reporter: republicans are increasingly taking aim at bidenomics, that's the president's economic plan that he has been touting over the last several months. trump attacked biden's economic agenda calling his actions an economic calamity and a human tragedy. the president is not appearing bothered by this line of criticism. president biden and the first lady spent the weekend in delaware where they were met with chants of four more years from crowds at rehoboth beach on sunday president biden is expected to stay in delaware through this week jessica? >> a lot happening in politics today. brie, thank you. now to an nbc news exclusive, parents of a 15-year-old girl in colorado

allegedly murdered by an ex-boyfriend are speaking out. alma lopez and her husband are casting blame on pole in colorado for not protecting their daught from her accused killer the parents claim that the authorities didn't do enough following complaints of domestic violence were fid. the killer is alleged to have shot lilly multiple times last month after she tried to end their relationship a spokesman for the police force said he could not provide details due to the ongoing investigation but added that the department has not received a formal complaint from any family members about the handling of the case. to the war in ukraine now which has once again spilled over into russia officials in moscow say they shot down three ukrainian drones targeting the capital. at least one crashed into a skyscraper with government offices. our matt bradley breaks it all again hitting the heart ofar ise

moscow drones damaging buildingin the central business district. we heard an explosion and it was like a wave, everyone jumped said this eyewitness russia's military said it shot down all the drones, though authorities briefly suspended nights at a nearby airport only one person was injured in the attack according to russia's state news agency but this was the fourth time the capital has come under fire in recent weeks, exposing how russia remains vulnerable far behind its front lines in ukraine ukrainian officials did not take direct responsibility for the attack ukraine is getting stronger, ukraine's president zelenskyy said, gradually the war is returning to the territory of russia russian president vladimir putin didn't appear to skip a beat, just hours after the attack visiting navy sailors in st.

petersburg guarding an image of complete control, but as the war creeps closer to home, ordinary russians may wonder whether the price of ukraine is worth paying matt bradley, nbc news at an emergency summit in nigeria more than a dozen west african nations announced sanctions against niger over the military coup in the country leaders also threatened military intervention unless democracy is restored within a week it came as thousands of pro coup demonstrators attacked the french embassy and the capital they did not manage the breach the embassy walls but they broke windows and burned a door. many waved russian flags and chanted the name much vladimir putin. french president emmanuel macron has warned of retaliation if french nationals are hurt. a horrific suicide bombing killed at least 55 people in pakistan sunday, more than 100 are hurt this happened in a northwestern

district targeting a rally for a pro-taliban clear rick we want to go to ali arouzi tracking the developments for us do we know who is behind this? >> reporter: good morning, jessica. at the moment there are no immediate responsibilities being taken for the attack, but pakistani officials say that this bears all the hallmarks of being orchestrated by isis-k which is an isis affiliate which operates in northwest pakistan obviously the target seems to be this juif political rally that was being held in that province. that party is an islamist party that formed a coalition with the government and have close ties to the tallahassee now, they have been previously targeted by isis-k in the region partly because their leader has close ties with the taliban and partly because isis-k says that

they don't interpret a strict enough form of islam in afghanistan and that's why they keep targeting them. now, afghanistan and pakistan has been rocked by a series of explosions by this militant group and the pakistani taliban as they are a trying to carve out a position for themselves in afghanistan and the time something no coincidence pakistan is heading towards elections this fall and they really want to disrupt those elections coming up this fall because they are not in favor of the government and this is how they're doing it, the pakistani prime minister has vowed revenge. jessica? >> ali, thank you. beachgoers in new hampshire were interrupted by a shocking accident this weekend. the small plane towing a banner crash landed in the ocean. it hit nose first and the tail went over the cabin. the pilot was seen swimming to

safety the lifeguards treated him on the beach. authorities are investigating the crash. we are saying good-bye to july but apparently not the summer heat wave just yet. michelle grossman has her eye on the heat alerts that are in the south today. michelle, good morning >> good morning to you both. we talked about this heat wave all the month of july, we will continue to talk about it tomorrow as we enter august. looking at 37 million americans still under heat alerts. we have relief in the northern part of the nation but the south continues to swelter looking at temperatures into the triple digits. we have excessive heat warnings for dallas, also austin, heat advisories for toousen into tulsa, little rock, tallahassee, fort peers, florida, and nine states impacted by record breaking temperatures over the next four days dots indicate where weld see record breaking temperatures and hot ones as we head into the triple digits, today dallas 106, 103 in san antonio warm in vero beach, miami into the mid 90s, factor in the

humidity it will be warmer than that the same story tomorrow, looking at 107 by tomorrow in dallas, that could tie could see former weather in the state of florida today also monsoonal moisture in the southwest. all right. stormy and steamy in the south we will take a look at where we could expect other showers across the nation today in a few minutes. >> see you soon. coming up, a judge steps in to protect librarians in arkansas. and we're become in a minute with a rare sisi lindedeook at e cdcdc's fight t against momosqu. . ♪♪ get odor-f-free eieight hour p protectionn from mosququitoes and d tics without ththe ick. zevo o on-body repepellent. people lovove it. bugsgs hate it..

hi. i ususe fe fafade defy pl. and i i use this.. febreze e has a micrcrochip to controlol scent relelease so it t smells firirst-y fresh h for 50 dayays. 50 days!? so it t smells firirst-y fresh h for 50 dayays. and d its refill rereminder ligight means i'll never miss a day of freshness. ♪ my most t importantt kikitchen toolol? my brarain. so i i choose neneuriva plus. ununlike some e others, so i i choose neneuriva plus. neuriva plplus is a mumultitar supportingng 6 key indndicas neuriva plplus is a mumultitar of brarain health.h. to helelp keep me e sharp. of brarain health.h. neuriviva: think b bigger. i used to o wait to rurun my d dishwasherr 'til itit was superer full. nonow— i runun it daily.y. weekdadays— weeeekends— you might think that's wasteful, but it's nono. eveven half loloads use 808% lessss water thahan handwashs. saving $ $130 on utitilities. cascscade. dare e to dish differenently. a federal judge has blocked arkansas from enforcing a law that would allow librarians and book sellers to be criminally

charged for providing, quote, harmful materials to minors. the law was signed by republican governor sarah huckabee sanders and was set to take effect tomorrow but some challenged the decision efforts to ban or restrict books are at a 20-year high. that's according to data from the american library association. health departments are sounding the alarm about west nile finding more mosquitos around the country carrying the virus. erica edwards takes us inside a cdc lab studying the bugs and how to stop them >> this is where we raise the mosquitos. >> reporter: inside this cdc lab in fort collins, colorado, swarms of mosquitos. >> probably tens of thousands of individual mosquitos. >> i'm glad we're suited up, then. >> reporter: boxed in, bottled up and studied, all in an effort to control an epidemic. >> west nile virus is one that really is endemic in the u.s.

right now. >> reporter: the debilitating disease is a major concern for the cdc. mosquitos are becoming stronger than the chemicals meant to kill them. >> we have seen resistance across the country. >> reporter: that's what they're testing, finding in some cases the bugs are becoming immune to insecticides. >> it's like antibiotic resistance >> reporter: repellants, however, still work well watch as connolly sticks her arm into this cage filled with mosquitos. >> are they biting >> not yet. >> reporter: you can see them swarming her arm, but after a spray the bugs steer clear. >> there is not a single mosquito on you. >> right that's what we want and expect out of a repellant that no mosquito will land on you or bite >> reporter: john vandenberg is adamant about bug spray after he was affected with west nile. >> just told my wife that this is -- i'm not feeling good and i

just went down on the floor. >> reporter: the virus had gone to his brain, robbing him of his ability to think clearly, read and right, paralyzing his arms and legs. >> i didn't know whether my mobility would ever come back, was i going to be paralyzed for life it was pretty scary time >> reporter: five years later he's still recovering. and while vandenberg's case is rare -- >> we have had young healthy individuals who have ended up with paralysis for the west of their life no one is immune from getting west nile virus disease. >> reporter: and the cdc is on heightened alert this year an an unusually wet spring in much of the country. here in the lab you can see mosquito eggs thrive in standing water. >> how many eggs are in each one of these grains of rice? >> 150 to 200 h one of those. >> reporter: a perfect breeding ground for a very real threat. >> it's very concerning because we want to make sure that the

public understands that this is different from what we've been seeing the past few years. >> reporter: erica edwards, nbc news. we're tracking trends as the wedding industry cashes in on the post-pandemic travel bug. and have you gotten your lottery tickets yet? more on the e mega milillions p climbing j jackpot ranankings. withth oral-b. round clcleans betteter by surroununding each h t. so clelean, you'llll feel likeu just lefeft the dentntist. ♪ w what you wawaiting for♪ so clelean, you'llll feel likeu just lefeft the dentntist. oral-b. . brush likeke a . so clelean, you'llll feel likeu just lefeft the dentntist. ♪ c come and geget it. ♪♪ pain hits fast. so get relief fast. only tylenol rapid release gels have laser-drilled holes. they release medicine fast... for fast pain relief. and now... ...get relief without a pill. with tylenol dissolve packs. relief without the water. when t target's gogood anand gather g groceries,, brbring joy toto the with table for r less.acks. when shariring, the love s starts withth qualality ingrededients. anand when grereat tastste meets lolow prices. that's tototally targeget.

fefebreze! hate i it when a c car freseshener hits y you with anan overwhelmg blblast of pererfume? febreze cacar vent c clips wowork differerently. febreze e gives youu consisistent freshshness ththat starts s just rightt and stayays just rigight... ...foror 40 days.. upgrade toto febreze c car. you rereally thinknk you can get me t to like darark chocol? withouout a doubt.t. won't t it taste b bitter? not ththis dark chchocolate. mmmm.... it's delelicious! i toldld you it wawasn't bitt. fromom the lindtdt master chocololatier. discover e excellence.e. expect delelicious. haveve fun, sis!s! ( ( ♪♪ ) ) ( ♪♪♪ ) can't ststop adding g stuff to youour cart? ( ♪♪♪ ) get the babank of amererica customizized cash rerewards c, chchoose the o online shshopping catategory get the babank of amererica customizized cash rerewards c, and earn 3% cash back. new w nature's bountyty hair grorowth. clinicallyly shown to o hep growow thicker, , fuller hr wiwith just onone capsule e ay growow thicker, , fuller hr of advdvanced hairir compl. conqueuer hair thihinnin. of advdvanced hairir compl. .....and fall l in love withth your hairir all over r . of advdvanced hairir compl. only f from naturere's bob. of advdvanced hairir compl.

justst between u us, you know what's betetter than m mopp? anything!! ugh. anything!! well, i i switched to s swiffer wetetjet, and d it's awesosome. it's a an all-in-o-one, that a absorbs dirirt and grime e deep insidide. and it helelps preventnt ststreaks and d haze. that a absorbs dirirt and grime e deep insidide. wetjetet is so wororth it. that a absorbs dirirt and grime e deep insidide. love it,t, or your money b .

we are back with our news by the numbers as more couples are flying the coop to tie the knot. according to the destination wedding global market report the destination wedding industry has grown $7 billion in the past year and is expected to reach a nearly $79 billion value by 2027 the industry surge comes as wedding planning website the knot found 18% of couples went away to head down the aisle in 2022, adding to the travel bug as more people have been itching to head abroad post-pandemic always fun also for the guests to make a little vacation out of it, too.

>> for sure. just be mindful it is a little more expensive for guests. while more americans are ditching home to get hitched new data are showing which part of the country are making the vows last the longest according to usa facts the country's capital is home to the shortest marriages, the average union lasting 10 1/2 years alaska and kansas just over 16 and 17 years the analysis suggests more eastern states are saying i do for the longest. west virginia boasting the longest average marriage in the u.s. at 22.6 years, got to get that .6 in there, with wisconsin and vermont close behind averaging just over 22 years. >> makes you wonder, right, what aligns with the states and why it makes it those years. while it has been a summer of record temps lottery fever is sizzling the mega millions has hit the billion dollar mark or spic $1.05 billion the prize jumped from $940

million after no winning numbers were pulled during friday's drawing. your next shot the now fourth largest sum in mega millions history is tomorrow at 11:00 p.m. eastern. >> we've all got to get a ticket by the way. when we come back michelle is looking at which parts of the country are heating up on this last day of july. ok> and later an on the field lo at the u.s.s. womomen's national t team trtrains to keep ththeir world d cup crown.n. i started d cosentyx®®. fifive years c clear. i started d cosentyx®®. real peoeople with p psorias i started d cosentyx®®. look andnd feel betttter with cosenentyx. dodon't use ifif you're alallc toto cosentyx.x. bebefore startrting get chched fofor tubercululosis. dodon't use ifif you're alallc toto cosentyx.x. an i increased r risk of ininfection, s some seriouos and a a lowered abability toto fight thehem may occuc. tetell your dodoctor abouout an infecection oror symptoms s or if you u d a vaccinine or plan n to. tell y your doctoror if your r crohn's didisease oror symptoms s or if you u d a vaccinine or plan n to. symptoms d develop or r wors. oror symptoms s or if you u d a vaccinine or plan n to. serious s allergic r reactin may occur.r. best move e i've ever r m. serious s allergic r reactin may occur.r. ask your d dermatologigist about t cosentyx®®. wawant luxury y hair repaiar that doesnsn't cost $5$50? pantenene's pro-vivitamin formula repapairs hair.. as w well as thehe leading l ly bondining treatmenent.

for softneness and resesili, withthout the prprice tag. as w well as thehe leading l ly bondining treatmenent. if you knonow... you knowow it's pantntene. i i brought inin enensure max p protein with 30 0 grams of p prot. i i brought inin enensure max p protein ththose who trtried me felet more energrgy in just t two w! uuuhhhhhh... here, , i'll take e that! woohoo! uuuhhhhhh... ensurere max protetein, 30 grarams of prototein, 1 grgram of sugagar. enter r the $10,00000 powered byby protein enter r the $10,00000 max chalallenge. enter r the $10,00000 ♪♪ ♪ enter r the $10,00000 i'm m the heat o on the stret anand i'm askiking women one burnrning questition... i'm m the heat o on the stret what's's vms? i'm m the heat o on the stret -oh,h, um... -uhhh... i'm m the heat o on the stret a k-k-pop band?? i haveve no idea.. vms? i've nevever heard..... i i don't knowow. what if f i told youou it acty has to do o with menopopa? i i don't knowow. ohohhh menopauause...yay.. wewell then, m maybe i'd s sa. ohohhh menopauause...yay.. very malalicious sweweat. actually, , vms standsds for vasomototor symptomsms whwhich is thehe medical termrm for hot f flashes actually, , vms standsds for vasomototor symptomsms and nighght sweats due e to menopauause.

oh! and nighght sweats due e to menopauause. thatat's what'ss makingng me hot atat night? and nighght sweats due e to menopauause. more l like day anand night. and nighght sweats due e to menopauause. ifif you're heheated aboutt bebeing overheheated, and nighght sweats due e to menopauause. gogo to whatsvsvms.com and nighght sweats due e to menopauause. mr. cleaean magic ereraser pos througugh tough memesses. mr. cleaean magic ereraser pos so it makekes it look k like i spent t hours cleaeanin, mr. cleaean magic ereraser pos and yoyou know i d didn't.. it m makes my rurunning shoe lolook like nenew! it's s amazing. it m makes my rurunning shoe lolook like nenew! it's s so good. it m makes my rurunning shoe lolook like nenew! itit makes it t look likee i i have magicical powers.. magigic eraser a and sheets make cleleaning lookok eas. itit makes it t look likee i i have magicical powers.. ( ( ♪♪ ) ) feel t the power of osteo b bi-flex®®. taken n every day,y, itit's clinicacally shownn to impmprove jointnt comt in 7 days,s, with s significantnt improvet over t time. ( ( ♪♪ ) ) you loveve rich, delicicious ice crcream. but your s stomach doeoe'. ththat disagrereement ends rightht now. but your s stomach doeoe'. lactaid icice cream isis the crcreamy, realal ice creamam yoe that will l never messss wiwith your ststomach. lactaid icice cream isis the crcreamy, realal ice creamam yoe lalactaid ice e cream. lactaid icice cream isis the crcreamy, realal ice creamam yoe when youou find yourur ren to g go on, let itit pull youu past t the doubt..

past the p pain, and pastst your limimits. no matatter what, , we go on. biofofreeze no matatter what, , we go on. fefebreze! your batathroom... needs febreze small spaces... the always-on, odor-fighting aiair freshenener you set and forget. no outlets used, no battereries neneeded, no e effort reququi. so your babathroom statays contntinuously f fresh for 45 dayays. that's the power of febreze small spaces. welcome back on this monday. big area of high pressure continues to pump hot weather into portions of the southern plains, the southwest into the southeast along the gulf coast states as well we are looking at shower chances, we have hot and stormy weather in the southwest, a storm threat in the northern plains that could bring damaging winds and hail could see heavy rain an dijing winds in the lower mississippi valley, southeast, mid-atlantic into parts of the new england. wednesday really nice conditions new england into the northeast, temperatures nice and comfortable for this time of

year the great lakes will see comfortable temperatures as well showers are possible in the lower mississippi valley, below average temperatures in portions of the intermountain west. record highs continue in the south. that will be the same story towards friday we will be wet from new england into the southeast on friday back to you both. >> thanks, michelle. we are heading to the tcpih with the u.s. women's national team ahead of their big game tomorrow even with scrubbbbing? (whaaat?)) i just cleleaned thosese. try y dawn platinum. it removes 99% of grease and fofood residueue. that's w why dawn isis trusd it removes 99% of grease and fofood residueue. to save e wildlife affected b by oil. it removes 99% of grease and fofood residueue. dawnwn platinum m cleans to thehe squeak. it removes 99% of grease and fofood residueue. when t target's gogood anand gather g groceries,, dawnwn platinum m cleans to thehe squeak. brbring joy toto the table for r less. when shariring, the love s starts withth qualality ingrededients. anand when grereat tastste meets lolow prices. that's tototally targeget. hohow white dodo you thinkk your t teeth realllly are? let's trtry the tissssue tes. ooof, , still yellllow. whititening tootothpaste can only d do so much.h. there'e's toothphpaste whit, and d there's s crest 3d whitesestrips whitite.

so much whiter! cresest. trtry killing g bugs the worrrry-free wayay. not t the other r way. zevovo traps usese light not t the other r way. to attttract and t trap flying i insects not t the other r way. with no ododor and no o m. not t the other r way. they work k continuoususly, soso you don''t haveve to. zevo. soso you don''t haveve to. people-friendly. soso you don''t haveve to. bug-deadly. exactly 24 hours from right now the u.s. national women's soccer team will face off against portugal in the women's world cup. team usa has won all ten of their last matches against portugal the team needs either a win or a draw in tomorrow's game to advance to the knockout rounds of the tournament.

molly hunter is on the pitch for the team's last practice ahead of the critical match. >> yeah, this is so cool, we get to go to practice, you can look behind me, that's the u.s. team, you have the goal keepers practicing over here this is their final practice before their final group stage match against portugal that kicks off here in auckland at eden park stadium tuesday night our time that is in the wee hours on the east coast, 3:00 a.m., it's going to test the loyalty and alarm clocks of u.s. fans. we had a chance to speak with megan rapinoe about not only this team, her goals but what she brings in 2023 take a listen. >> i think the business of it is starting to catch up with the actual product i think we've obviously been putting a really exciting product on the field for a very long time but now you're seeing more sponsorship, more ticket sales, more investment into tournaments like this, so it can actually capture the growth that we've been having over these past few years trying to continue to do what i

do, obviously i have a different role on the team and, you know, not playing in that starting role anymore, but, you know, anytime i get on the field i feel like i still am always just a threat to create something >> reporter: she's such a pro. she was fun, generous and extremely complementary of these younger players, 14 new players making their debuts, but she wants to win the reason to play in the world cup, the reason it is so special and of course this is her final world cup is because when you go all the way that is what you are here to do we will be watching that portugal game very closely back to you. >> molly, thank you. in it to win it. we will be up anyway, so get some "early today" and swems socker >> we will be checking both. coming up, the "today" show is going into the wild sam brock has an exclusive report from the crocodile lake national wildlife refuge in florida taking us inside the efforts to save the american crocodile and al roker is here with what else to watch for this morning.

>> this morning on the third hour of "today" how to travel smarter and save money on your next vacation, plus in our entertainment round up, all the big movies and shows dropping in august and dylan is making a family favorite in cooking with cal, all that and more on the third hour of "today." >> all right, al, thank you. we have your programming all lined up when it comes to "early today," women's soccer and the "today" show so you are all set to start off your week. thanks for watching "early today. i'm frances rivera. >> and i'm jessica layton. have a great monday. we will see you back here tomorrow morning

it was a weekend of wild weather across the country storms slammed into the northeast where families are still cleaning up this morning and that unrelenting heat finally letting up we'll let you know when to expect a cooldown. oversea, pakistan left reeling after a suicide bombingi