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donald trump saying not guilty we'll break down everything that happened in court and what comes next on the southern border, tensions on the ride, but it's t just theonestar st get a closer look at the crisis across the southwest >>ilors accud of espionage. ar what information the justice department saysthey sold to the chinese government lizzo breaks her silence hear the singer's response to the lawsuit and harassment allegations. and a young boy gets his wish to join the savannah banana's baseball team we watch as they prepare to welcome the newest member. "early today" starts right now >> good morning, i'm valerie castro >> i'm steven romo a lot to get to this morning we begin with former president trump who on thursday stood before a judge for the third time this year he pleaded not guilty to charges

of attempting to overturn an election a trial date won't be set until the end of the month but the judge warned trump he risks being taken into custody if he seeks to influence potential witnesses in the case. alice barr has more. >> reporter: former president trump standing before a federal judge for a 27-minute appearance now etched in history. the former president entering his own not-guilty plea to four felony counts on charges he conspired to defraud the government he once led and sought to overturn an election he had lost, sitting in the front row, roughly 15 feet away, special counsel jack smith, who led the investigation and accused the former president of spreading lies about a stolen election that culminated in the deadly january 6 capitol attack. before returning home to new jersey, mr. trump was defiant. >> when you lack atook at what' happening, this is a persecution after political opponent

this was neff suver supposed to happen in america. >> this is the first time that the first amendment has been criminalized >> reporter: the indictment spells out that former president trump had a right to speak, and even to lie, about the election results. but the charges are centered on his alleged actions, including a scheme involving fake electors outside the courthouse, tempers flaring and opinions clashing. >> i hope that truth will prevail. i hope that he will be held accountable for his actions. >> this is not playing fair. he's a frontrunner for the president of the united states >> reporter: a trial date will be critical, as the former president's mounting legal troubles are on a collision course with the 2024 presidential campaign. former president trump is due back in court on august 28, and that is when we may learn about tcase could be headed one of at least three criminal

trials the former president will have to contend with in the coming election year in washington, alice barr, nbc news the two tennessee democrats who were expelled from the legislature earlier this year have won their seats back according to projections from the ap justin jones of nashville and justin j. pearson of memphis were expelled in april after protesting in support of gun safety on the chamber floor. they still had to run for their old seats. the ousting of jones and pearson drew national attention to the tennessee legislature and prompted accusations of racism an appeals court is allow ago signature piece of president biden's immigration policy to stay in place. it makes it difficult for people to be granted asylum unless they first seek protection in the country they're traveling through to get to the u.s., or they have to apply online for asylum first a lower court had found that policy illegal, but the new

ruling will keep it in place as the legal battle continues t playut it could go all thway to eme cour let's turn to trag w erpment tess southern two lifeies have been found in the rio grande. one waund at the floating barrier texas recently installed. e deathsre escin tensioetween texas and mexico r julia ainsley has the latest >> reporter: tragedy in texas. two migrants dying in the rio grande and now, a dispute over where it happened mexico says a body was found stuck in one of these controversial floating barriers texas installed to stop illegal border crossings texas governor greg abbott says the mexican government ie me flat-out wrong, that preliminary

investigations points to the bodies drowning before reaching the borders. tucson is now the busiese bu sector this mother and son tell us they have been sleeping in the mountains and walking until they were exhausted what did you have for food and water? nothing, she says. we are hungry. this agent tells us there's a significant rise in families >> family units. people as young as 1-year-old kids >> reporter: the border patrol union argues the numbers are high because of border patrol policies >> you don't have real policies to stop that it's never going to end. >> reporter: and a growing flash point over 1,000 miles away in new york city. hundreds sleeping on midtown manhattan sidewalks outside the roosevelt hotel.

officials say arriving migrant also cost the city over $4 billion. the mayor pleading for federal help >> we need help. and it's not going to get any better from, from this moment on, it's downhill there is no more room. >> reporter: back here in arizona, agents say record-break heat means more rescues using helicopters like these and sometimes they find migrants too late to save them. >> julia, thank you. the justice department has arrested two navy sailors accused of selling military secrets to china a 22-year-old faces espionage charges. they say he sent photos of military hardware and vehicles to a chinese officer and in a 13separate case, a 26-year-old is accused of providing plans. theye thappearances in

court and end pleas not ilty >>e gunman who killeand wounded people at the tree of life synagogue was sentenced to life robert bowers was confronted in court about the pain he caused in the deadliest act of antisemitism in u.s. history >> we finally saw the monster come out in his prisongarb there's no closure, because ply mo my mom's still dead >> it could be years before bowers is executed let's turn to africa and the volatile situation that's only growing more intense in niger. international pressure is mounting against the leaders of a military takeover. west african nations which have the backing of the united states are pushing for the democracy to be restored. raf sanchez is following these developments this morning. what are these other countries doing to try to help niger >> reporter: well, steven, the

west african regional bloc says as a last resort they are prepared to use force in niger. senegal is the latest to say they would use troops. for now, though, the focus is on diplomatic, economic pressure, including financial sanctions, and parts of niger have been seeing rolling blackouts, which appears to be a result of neighboring countries cutting off electricity. president biden also adding his voice, saying he wants to see immediately the release of niger's imprisoned president but we saw yesterday hundreds of supporters of the military coup out on the streets of the capital of niger a lot of their anger is aimed at france, which is the former colonial power in the country. we're also hearing from the state department about the plan

to get americans out of niger. they chartering a flight today to evacuate non-essential embassy personnel, diplomats, and their families but they are also saying that there are seats on that plane available for private american citizens who are trying to get out of country it's worth saying, steven, that this is a chartered civilian flight rather than a military evacuation >> important to note there tense situation. raf, thank you an 87-year-old woman in maine is, went from fighting off a home intruder to feeding him a snack. the intruder broke into her home last week saying he was going to cut her. >> he grabbed me by the shoulder the and pushed me against the wall and so forth. so i kept my chair and kept hitting him. >> he struck her on the cheek and forehead before heading to the kitchen.

he told her he was awfully hungry she fed him while dialing 911. he left and police tracked him down he was charged with burglary and assault. this weekend brings a fresh round of summer storms stretching down the east coast angie lassman is tracking the severe threats ahead of us good morning, angie. >> we have showers and thunderstorms we'll be dealing with today into the weekend. showers and thunderstorms emerging out of rockies, moving into the plains. wet weather across parts of the midwest and the northeast and southeast are going to be unsettled today too. we have a lot going on with the atmospheric systems. most are going to chug a little farther to the east bringing showers and thunderstorms to the northeast and southeast. we could see strong storms in parts of the northeast, including scranton, stretching into portioning of vermont, new hampshire, down through pennsylvania, the greatest chance to see large hail as well

as strong winds and the flooding twncern is there, too. atlanta, and rain expected for new york, scranton and syracuse with temperatures into the low 80s. and that's a look at your forecast, guys, back over to you. >> all right, angie, weekend and storms do not belong together, but we know it's not your fault. we appreciate it though. we're back in 60 seconds with a historic mega millionons jajackpot up f for grarabs > one plman ususing his job o accecess thousands of tickets. bo access thousanands of tickckets. . . anand find a z zone... . all yourur own. . ♪♪♪ . scope sqsqueez. .

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water. a gas station employee was hit with theft charges after allegedly stealing thousands of dollars in lottery tickets intfrom work >> what you're charged with here is 18 counts of grand theft. >> reporter: the 44 yo-year-olds facing a grand theft charge after hialeah police say he used his employment at this gas station to steal from his employer >> he was supposed to just be cleaning there but when his co-workers were going to the restroom he would go to the storage closet, grab the little booklets, go to the cash register, activate them and later on go to different locations and get the prizes from them. >> reporter: according to investigators, the thefts started in late january until at least the end of march the owner of the gas station noticed the scratch-off tickets were going at a rapid speed and decided to check the surveillance video >> that's when he noticed the

employee w employee was going to storage, hiding it on his person and leaving the store with it. >> reporter: police say he stole $53,700 worth of lottery scratchoffs. but it could be more the officer says each of the booklets could have 60 tickets, and the costs range from a dollar to 30 dollars per ticket. >> put it under lock and key put it in a safe keep a log with the numbers that pertain t pertain to those tickets >> our thanks for that report. and speaking of lottery tickets. do you have yours yet? >> no. i don't either we better get on t lateit later today we'll find out if a lucky winner nabs the prize. it's flown past the billion dollar mark and no one has won the main event since april the fourth-largest drawing is

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♪ whatever you do ♪ ♪ be totally you ♪ ♪ you got a personal passion ♪ >> valerie was singing along to that that's a joke. she wasn't really. we're here to break down the biggest headlines in entertainment. bratz dogs have their first celebrity collab, and it's with kylie jenner it has not been smooth sailing for the campaign fans shared frustration online saying they were disappointed they chose a white celebrity

when the dolls are highlighted by people of color bratz nor kylie jenner have responded to our request for comment. blast from the past. >> they were all very popular, they're back lizzo has broken her silence responding to reports we broke this week regarding four of her backup dancers were suing her for harassment she denied all allegations, saying this week has been gut-wrenching and called the claims outrageous. she is accused of weight shaming and creating a hostile work environment. i saw the statement she posted, it was several pages long. i'm curious if she'll come out and speak about t > it. cardi b won't be facing charges for the mic incident

the woman filed charged of battery saying she was harmed by the mic. the event create add ton of buzz the alleged mic, bit way was up for sale on ebay the last time i saw it, it was up to $100,000, going to charity. >> you can buy anything on ebay. a comedian is poised to be the host of the "daily show" they had been using a revolving set of hosts the deal hasn't been finalized, and the gig would be a homecoming for minute minaj chlt / hanauj.

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massachusetts got the chance to live out his dream all the way across the country our savannah affiliate introduces us to the team's number one fan >> i just found out, financial means. it's about showing that you're way more than what your diagnosis is it's only been like 36 hours, and it's been epic >> reporter: the 10-year-old became a fan of the bananas when he saw team videos that went viral on tiktok. he a chance to live out a dream throughout make-a-wish foundation he asked to be a savannah banana for a day. >> we heard a lot about swaggy and his dance moves. can't wait to see them >> reporter: swaggy's neurological disorder forces him to wear a cap and sunglasses for most of the time since he's sensitive to light while some tease him for his cap and sunglasses, a kind girl suggested it gave him swagger.

after that, it became his permanent nickname >> he was like, can you call me swaggy >> reporter: although eme he'lly be on the field for one game, he got some autographs. >> it means the world for us gives a good perspective on what we're trying to do >> reporter: swaggy plans to make the most of his opportunity, even has a dance plan if he hit as home run >> i love that so much thanks for sharing that amazing story. i want one of those autographs from swaggy. what a cool name >> as far as nicknames go, doesn't get much cooler. >> can't go wrong. a new chapter for a dog named bunny. [cheers and applause

it's so sweet. mercedes benz collaborated with another company to make a custom wheelchair for the dog who was run over by a car in mexico. a rescue service called the animal pad spotted the 2-year-old pupback in april an noticed she was missing both behind legs. luckily, bunny is fully recovered but require as wheelchair to move on her own, and mercedes was able to do just that with help from eddie's wheels she'll be on the animal pad adoption site very soon. >> so many twists and turns. getting run over by a car, what a good ending. stils to find a forever home i'm steven romo >> i'm vie castro v a great friday a great friday

right now at 5:00, homes still under threat in the south bay as crews work overnight to make sure that fire doesn't spread further into the hills. we'll take you liv