travel troubles across the country as millions of americans made their way home. many found themselves stuck on highways after a number of deadly crashes

another group trying to get home, the burners. burning man festival goers are starting their exodus after the deadly storm kept them stuck in the mud. one quick choice may have protected a maui neighborhood from last month's devastating fires. weigh sp he /* we speak to the man who put out the flame and the man whose home he saved. carlos alcaraz is on track to bring home his second straight title and today is national cheese pizza day. everything you need to know about the cheesy holiday tuesday september 5. "early today" starts right now good morning, i'm jessica layton >> glad to be with you, i'm frances rivera this year's labor day travel rush was complicated by serious accidents on the highway, including a tragic crash in georgia. our kathy park has the details >> reporter: serious traffic

accidents adding to logjams on one of the busiest travel weekends of the year in connecticut, a tanker carrying 8,000 gallons of gasoline rolled over and went up in flames sunday night, shutting down the interstate for hours. while in the suburbs of atlanta tragedy when three cars wrecked on i-85. police say one vehicle went over a wall and dropped from roughly 50 feet. >> five people were found deceased at the scene and three additional were transported to area hospitals in stable condition. >> reporter: these scenes playing out with millions on the move, in the air and on the roads. >> it can be stressful at times. >> reporter: bumper to bumper traffic slowing down the post holiday rush home. from the beaches in maryland to the great smokey mountains in tennessee. the kausers from detroit say they're looking at at least eight hours of drive time. in somethi >> just something you have to deal with when you go on vacation >> get home and start school tomorrow >> we're prepared.

we got the music ready they fueling up with food. we'll be good. >> reporter: the airports packed as well with more than 2 million traveling each day around the holiday weekend, a 11% increase over last year >> traveling has been so much more exhausting than it used to be >> our thanks to kathy for that re report the white house confirmed that jill biden has tested positive for covid she is 72 years old and this is the second time she tested positive she first tested positive after the president teed positive last year. the first lady is is experienci only mild symptoms right now thousands of festivals began their long-awaited exodus from the burning man festival this view from above shows a sea of cars finally making the

journey home our liz kroits is on the ground at burning man >> reporter: with thousands urgently waiting to leave, signs the exodus has begun from. we're making it out! >> reporter: the weather drying up festival goers known as burners finally getting the go ahead to get out. all right you made it out. >> i know it i'mso grateful >> reporter: the traffic backing up by early morning. the rush visible for miles around camp there's still pockets of mud like this wet and sticky it's what officials are worried about as burners begin their exodus the chaos began friday, an unusual summer storm turning the annual desert campout into a muddy mess more than 70,000 trapped the local sheriff probing the death of one person during the rain event the cause still under investigation, but organizers

say it was not storm related >> people aring if to need to be patient. >> reporter: following calls to shelter in place and conserve supplies, the ceo telling attendees to remain calm. >> we do not see this as an evacuation situation >> reporter: it is a tradition going back nearly 40 years, celebrating art, music and community. >> it's one for the ages, that's for sure >> reporter: with the line to leave taking hours some finding it hard to get out >> there was a taxi that could take us out by the meter and it would be $500 or more. >> reporter: the harrowing conditions >> you could smell burning record and mud >> reporter: putting the most self-r self-reliant to the test it has been a slow crawl for thousands leaving burning shelt.

an injured driver pulled to safety after spending five days trapped at the bottom of a ravine if southern california. you can see the crew working to pull that man and his truck to safety the rescue happened over the weekend. accord together kern fire department the driver had been stuck since last tuesday officials did not release any details about how the man is doing. they are still investigating the crash. >> now to shocking sexual allegations. eight members of a pageant are speaking out they said they were pressured to undergo surprise body-checks one was asked to take off all her clothes and photos were taken of her she said she felt like she could not object to the po ses the new york-based ms. universe ties organization has cut ties with the indonesian franchise. the only of the ms. universe

pageant denied any body-checks defense minister sergei shoigu seemed to confirm that moscow has proposed naval drills that would include china it comes as the "new york times reports that kim jong un will meet with vladimir putin later this month what do we know about the potential joint exercises? >> reporter: well, good morning, frances. russia's news agency quoting show shoigu as saying of course these are discussed. why not, these are our neighbors, and there's an old russian saying that you don't choose your neighbors. it's better to live with your neighbors in peace and harmony following his visit to north korea this summer. and this comes based on

intelligence that north korea and russia are actively negotiating for an arms deal and that these are advancing, and that's following this visit, saying putin and north korea's leader had exchanged letters and that high-level discussions could follow and this would point to the "new york times" report that the north korean leader would be traveling to russia to the town of vladivostok for a meeting with putin he has met him here before, a few years ago. and opting to travel by armored train, like his father, in fears of flying and safety over flying to russia, so, and an easy way for him to travel by rail. but any arms deal between the two countries would be in direct violation of a number of u.n. security council resolutions but would point to russia's shortage

of ammunition in their war with ukraine, following their full invasion of the country there. so we'll see how these things progress >> a visit that could elevate the relationship and their alliance chapman, thank you >> now to spain where at least three people are dead and three others missing after torrential rain flooded several regions there, including the capital, madrid one of the victims got trapped in an elevator emergency crews had to use helicopters to rescue people trapped on their roofs the record downpour turned streets into rivers and hail was reported in many areas the extreme weather has passed, but there is still widespread devastation in its wake. and here in the oust another round of dangerous record-breaking heat is set to stretch across the country meteorologist michelle grossmann is here tracking how high those temperatures could get today hi,

michelle hi there, guys, great to see you. we are looking at temperatures soaring into the upper 90s you factor in the humidity, it's going to feel like over 100 degrees. 42 million americans impacted by heat alerts. where you see the orange, those are heat advisories. we have some in the southern plains, but throughout the northeast we have lots we're looking at temperatures soaring into 90s once again. it was a hot tday yesterday. it's going to feel like 100 degrees once you factor in the humidity even grand rapids, 91. we could break more than 80 records. tomorrow we're going to keep the heat in place stretching into new england. temperatures into the 90s. d.c. 99. it's going to feel like over 100 degrees, feeling like 103 tomorrow and 97 in cape

hatteras by the weekend, 82 o degrees 101 in dallas. you factor in the humidity, it's going to feel much warmer than that that's a look at your tuesday forecast back to you. >> we're back ifn 60 seconds wit a gender reveal that went horribly wrong horribly wrong (♪♪) honey... honey... dayquil severe honey. powerful cold and flu symptom relief

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everything while we're leaving >> reporter: right from those first heart-stopping moments, jessica pickering knew their time was precious leaving lahaina with the flames on their heels. >> we tried to get out of neighborhood but were blocked by cars >> reporter: along the way they spot a flash of fire in the bushes. >> oh, my god, it's there in the bushes >> what? >> the fire! in the [ bleep ] bushes! >> reporter: steve leaps to put out the flames threatening a complete stranger's house. >> steven! come on! we're going get stuck! >> reporter: were you thinking this is crazy, and it's going to cost us our lives? >> yes >> reporter: what did his actions end up doing >> i think he saved that area of the neighborhood >> reporter: the pickerings barely survived without emergency sirens or even a text to warn them >> i haven't paeersonally heardf a single notification anybody received in all of my social

network period >> reporter: out of how many people you've talked to? >> hundreds. >> reporter: hundreds. maui county response is under investigation, though they claim they warned people through tixes and police loudspeakers in neighborhoods. >> always better safe than sorry. >> reporter: beltran spent time as a senior safety official. >> i would have said full evacuation >> reporter: this the morning? >> in the morning. knowing the winds are this high. they're super high prepare for the worst. and then hope for less all right road to recovery looks long for jessica and steven. one of their maui diving shops went up in flames along with about a million and a half dollars worth of inventory >> having to say that we have nothing and hold your hand out and ask for help is really humbling and hard. >> reporter: still, there's a soulful silver lining across town in the smith household, where drew smith recognized something familiar on social

yooid. >> honey, come in here, look at this there's a guy saving a house i said oh, my god, it's our neighborhood then we started looking, we're like, this is our house! >> reporter: smith says he's putting the pickerings in his will as for steven and jessica, they have their lives and their love. >> oh, my god, it's right there in the bushes! >> reporter: and a whole bunch of neighbors ready to help them out if they ever need a hand sam brock, nbc news, lahaina a gender reveal in san pedro, mexico turned deadly after the pilot crashed his plane. the viral video shows the couple looking up the plwing of the plane detached the pilot was transported to a local hospital but later pronounced dead. >> still to come on "early today," an all-american showdown at the u.s. open >> and a top-ten upset to cap

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third down and three designed run for leonard, and he's able to break it. leonard, inside the 20, inside the 5 and into the end zone! >> we are back to break down the biggest biggest plays in sports. duke trailed clemson at the half, but the blue devils where on fire in the second half a and an interception sealed it. duke wins over clemson, 28-7 you haven't had that big after margin since the 1930s >> good tor for duke, but i hava lot of clemson families in my family, including my dad

the u.s. open, a battle between two of america's best in the round of 16. madison keys needed just over an hour to get overo get over pege. s alcaraz is back in the quarters. he is three wins away from a second straight u.s. open title. a lot of people saying they would love to see alcaraz and djokovic >> a rematch >> a rematch a little while until we could get there, but it could happen >> we'll be watching on the baseball diamond, another strong outing from trai truner a win over the padres, he's now hit seven home runs in his last seven games and a hit in each of his last 15 games, the longest active streak in baseball.

he has helped the phillies win seven of their last ten games, which is a total 180 from how he started this season. so great to see him keep asking up this space. we're going to get a little cheesy after the break >> what you need to know about cheese pizza day to know about cheese pizza day all day long but with prilosec otc just one pill a day blocks heartburn for a full 24 hours. for one and done heartburn relief, prilosec otc. one pill a day, 24 hours, zero heartburn. have fun, sis! ♪♪ can't stop adding stuff to your cart? get the bank of america customized cash rewards card, choose the online shopping category and earn 3% cash back. ( ♪ ♪ ) start your day with nature made. the #1 pharmacist recommended vitamin and supplement brand.

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okay today's national cheese pizza day. here's what you need to know early today. modern cheese pizza can be traced back to naples and brought over to the u.s. by italian immigrants if you like toppings on your pie, you'll have to wait a few weeks for national pepperoni pizza day on the 20th. >> domino's is offering two mix and match menu items for $6.99 pizza hut's big dinner box with three medium pete sassizzas sta

$24.99 if you're planning on making your own pizza the cleveland clinic offers these healthy tips >> cauliflower pizza is so delicious. liftoff when "early today" comes back day" comes back [ tense music ] one aleve works all day so i can keep working my magic. just one aleve. 12 hours of uninterrupted pain relief. aleve. who do you take it for? and for fast topical pain relief, try alevex. with new scope squeez mouthwash concentrate, just add water, squeeze to control the strength of your mouthwash. and find a zone... all your own. ♪♪ scope squeez. when target's good and gather groceries,

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thousands of people come together for the three-day celebration, and our ohio affiliate shows us the sights and sounds from this year's show >> reporter: it doesn't matter if you're 4 or 104, like george. when trying to get air show interviews, they go a bit like this >> they have a great show all the time >> reporter: cover your ears and look to the sky. because the u.s. air force thunderbirds and other featured flying vessels are here to impress. even a world war ii veteran. >> there's nothing like that in world war ii >> reporter: the air show means something different, something special to everyone. that can be magnified for veterans, including dennis, who's been coming to the air show for 30 years, making the trek up from west virginia >> it's an expression of the power of this nation

in the finest way. and not just the power of technology, but the power of the human resource >> reporter: the human resource in many cases being that of our active military members. >> the young people that really kind of fly and maintain and do their duty, i think we owe it to them in our thanks to emma henderson for that report and our thanks for those in the military who make it happen >> absolutely. a letter penned by hemingway himself has sold for $237,000 h detailed how weak he was from internal bleeding and how his wife's memory was affected they'd been sight seeing in uganda when their first plane

crashed and when camping in the jungle their rescue plane caught fire little known fact that they survived that. that is unbelievable >> so many extraordinary aspects. a nearly 200-year-old time capsule is found inside a monument officials at west point opened the lead box and discovered six silver american coins dating back from 1795 to 1825, and an archaeologist is still testing the sediments inside the box and the coins are belied to beev

right now at 5:00, struck by stray gunfire, an afternoon walk suddenly turns tragic for a woman near lake merritt. the latest this morning on the