hurricane lee is now a power, category 5 storm. the mass i sive storm rapidly

intensified overnight. will it impact american shores a tragedy 3,000 feet below the earth. an american in turkey is behind a massive rescue effort. >> five days stranded at the bottom of a ravine now the driver rescued earlier this week is sharing his incredible story of survival he shares the prayers that helped him endure. it's national actors day we're taking a look back at the historic hollywood strikes stretching well into their second month and who says you can't teach an old dog new tricks? meet the scooter doodle cruising her way into people's hearts it's friday, september 8 "early today" starts right now >> good morning, and thanks for being with us today. i'm jessica layton >> grad to be with you ending the week, i'm frances rivera

breaking news, there are new warnings for the east coast as hurricane lee comes closer it quickly intensified into a category 5 hurricane it is unclear if it will make landfall, but the hurricane center is warning of dangerous as well as and life-threatening rip currents for puerto rico and the east caoast of the united states starting friday a former trump official was convicted on two counts of contempt of congress peter navarro refused to comply with a subpoena from the january 6 committee last year. now each count carry as minimum of 30 days to a year in prison, as well as fine. navarro's sentencing has been scheduled for january 12th the gop is looking to rebrand its messaging on abortion, following a string of high-profile election losses multiple republican senators

told nbc news that they were presented with poll results at a meeting this week, suggesting the term "pro-life" no longer resonates with voters, following the dobbs decision six states have held votes on reproductive rights since the dobbs decision, all leading to vic victories for abortion rights advocates. secretary of state blinken visited ukraine. speaking with richard engel, blinken explained why he thinks the fight for ukraine remains important, despite shifting public opinion here's richard's report. >> reporter: as ukrainian forces grind out their counter offensive against intrenched russian troops, secretary of

state blinken insists ukraine is finally making advances. >> we are seeing it in the east and in the south it's hard. >> reporter: o farso far in thet three months, gains have been very very, slow. do you think we're starting to see more progress? >> it's step by step we do, we're with them we'll remain with them and not just us, again, many other countries around the world will remain with them. >> reporter: but opinion polls suggest that americans might not be in this for the long haul are you making false promises saying yes, we're with you, the american people are with you for the long haul when they might not be >> first, part of my job, and this is true for the president and many others in the administration is of course to talk to our own people, to continuously try to make clear what's at stake if we allow this aggression by russia to go

unconte uncontested, you open a pandora's box. would hobe aggressors say if th can do it, we can do it. >> reporter: at least 17 ukrainians were killed wednesday in this market and now there are fears that russia like ukraine is running low on weapons and ammunition could get more from a new source indications are that president putin and kim jong un are going to meet next week. do you know when >> don't know when, but we've seen that, and i think that speaks volumes it speaks volumes about the desperation that russia has, if it's going around the world trying to find support and weapons from north korea >> reporter: desperate, but it could work do you think it could have an

impact i impact tip the balance? >> we've been concerned that they're getting drones from iran we're certainly concerned of it getting more from north korea. so we will look at every possible means we have to prevent that, to disrupt that, working with other countries >> reporter: and secretary blinken told us that peace negotiations don't look promising. that russian president putin does not seem interested in diplomacy. >> >> our thanks to richard for that report. the tcontroversial barrier l remain in place for the time being. the court told texas governor abbott to remove the buoy. the original ruling gave abbott until september 15 preer prior to his appeal, abbott said he's willing to take the fight all the way to the supreme

court. spokes people for abbott and the d.o.j. did not immediately respond to our request for comment. the hunt for an escaped presse prisoner continues he was convict in the u.s. of killing his ex-girlfriend, stabbing her more than 30 times. our george solis spoke with the victim's sister. >> reporter: is your family afraid, knowing he's out on the loose? >> yes, my family's all scary. i don't sleep no more. he's a monster when he's with my sister >> he was last spotted yesterday at a place called longwood gardens. those botanical gardens were evacuated and

evacuated remain closed to the public danny masterson was convicted of raping two women. masterson has repeatedly denied the allegations. his attorney says the jury got it wrong and they are confident the convictions will be overturned now to a drama deep underground. an american explorer trapped in a cave in turkey he suffered a medical emergency while co-leading an expedition and likely cannot get out on hes his own. an international team of rescuers is preparing a daunting mission to rescue him. >> reporter: the dramatic first video of mike dickie >> i'm doing well. thank you u. >> reporter: advice ba visibly t

this good spirits. >> i'm up, alert, talking, but i'm not healed on the inside yet, so i need a lot of help to get out of here. >> reporter: the 40 yoefld suffered severe gastrointestinal illness, he was pashsly unconscious for three days the cave is turkey's third deepest, with elaborate deep passages and water-filled caverns which makes it one of the tough test to traverse. >> i don't expect mark on the surface for four to eight days >> reporter: his rescuers facing a monumental journey back to the surface. >> we take care of our own and it's really special to be taken care >> reporter: so how long this

takes will depend a lot on whether dickie is able to walk himself out of that cave, if he needs to be carried out on a stripper stretcher, it could make it a lot more difficult and time-consuming the u.s. open semi-finals match was delay ed by almost an hour play came to a halt following disruptions by four climate protesters tournament officials said one of the protesters had glued their feet to the cement floor of the stands the protester was eventually safely removed by authorities p the group called extinction rebellion claimed credit for the protests those involved were calling for an end to fossil fuels after sweating through one more heat wave, the east coast starts out the weekend with severe weather angie lassman is tracking those storms and more. >> we have unsettled weather for sure, not just today but into

the weekend. a cold front is to thank for that as we deal with showers, thunderstorms and maub even st maybe even strong storms later. it will eventually shift a little further to the east nicer conditions on the way for tomorrow flot things will settle into a more seasonal pattern the farther north you are, you will see philadelphia in the low 80s, charlotte in the mid to low 80s as we round out the weekend and head into the next workweek. >> of course we cannot not talk about hurricane lee. winds at 160 miles per hour it did go through rapid intensification and is expected to and major hurrine bricangr jd

orlando, as well as tampa, all dealing with showers and thunderstorms thunderstorms. of "early today" is back in 60 seconds. a crash left a man stranded for five days. details on his story, next dryness and frizz that keeps coming back, could be damaged hair that can't retain moisture. you need pantene's miracle rescue deep conditioner. it's filled with pro-vitamins to help hair lock in moisture, visibly repairing six months of damage in just one use, with no weigh-down. guaranteed, or your money back. for hair that looks healthy and stays healthy.

if you know, you know it's pantene. when target's good and gather groceries, for h bring joy to thealthy table for less.y. when sharing, the love starts with quality ingredients. and when great taste meets low prices. that's totally target. oh stuffed up again? so congested! you need sinex saline from vicks. just sinex, breathe, ahhhh! [sniffs] what is — wow! baby: daddy. sinex. breathe. ahhhhhh! we are back now with an incredible story of survival from california. a driver plunged off a cliff and got trapped in a ravine for five days in a very remote area our miguel almaguer spoke to the good samaritan who came to the

rescue >> reporter: this is the moment rescue teams pulled calvin smith to safety, using ropes and a basket the great-grandfather was lifted up a steep cliff after spending nearly five days trapped at the bottom of the ravine >> i was praying god, please don't let me die out here. >> reporter: speaking from his hospital bed where he was recovering, he says he was driving these remote mountain roads outside los angeles when his truck careened off a cliff and plummeted 100 feet down u. >> ejected out of the vehicle. >> reporter: out of sight without food and water growing more worried he might not survive another night, on day five he finally heard dirt bikers in the area

>> when i heard him yelling for help i was really shocked. >> reporter: cory spotted the truck, climbed down to smith, gave him water and called for help do you think was a strike of luck or miracle that you came across him >> it was definitely a miracle >> reporter: a remote miracle after a rescue on the mountain >> and they're with another crash in california that ended in tragedy police say a person drove off a cliff during a police chase in the angeles national forest. the person in the car died at the scene. authorities have not released any information or what led to the chase. singer marc anthony's star can be found on the hollywood walk of fame he was surprised by long-time friend and soccer star david beckham, who is the godfather to one of anthony's sons who was also there supporting his dad. anthony has had 33 number ones

on the billboard charts, four grammys and nine latin grammys down to the wire the chiefs and lions battle it out in the nfl kickoff and coco gauff, who will be her opponent (♪♪) this is not just a shot. (♪♪) this is wellness made easy... (♪♪) ...for those who've got plans. (♪♪) get your flu shot and other vaccines in one trip. (♪♪) schedule online today. (♪♪) (screams) bleeding gums are serious, jamie. dr. garcia? woah. they're a sign of bacterial infection. crest gum detoxify's antibacterial fluoride works below the gumline to help heal gums and stop bleeding. crest saves the day. crest. we used to struggle with greasy messes.

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third and six. brown to the end zone. detroit touchdown! >> we are back to break down the biggest stories in sports, starting with nfl kickoff. st. brown scored the first touchdown of the season for the lions who picked off patrick mahomes. a pair of chiefs field goals put kansas city up in the fourth until david montgomery ran it in to give the slolions a lead the would not give up.

patrick mahomes kind of without his bro over there swinging over to the u.s. open and a three-set thriller for a spot in the women's final after madison keys swept the first set. the third set went to a tie break where sabalenka played lights out to win and advance to her second grand slam ever and after a protest delayed the other semi-final, coco gauff advanced to her first u.s. open final. after the protest. and after this incredible heat, like historic heat wave we've been having here they're playing with all that. >> so much credit to them. >> history on the hardwood for sabrina ye sabrina she won the three-point contest during all-star weekend. she has 124 threes this year and

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guilds held a rallyto push for unemployment benefits to striking workers and the bill has to be approved by next weekend before the end of the 2023 session. and warner bros. discovery suspended deals with some of the most high-profile writers in the industry, including mindy kaling the studio is halting payments to the a-list writers for the duration of the strike nbc has not independently verified this. we'll be back after the break. 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? this isn't charmin! no wonder i don't feel as clean. hurry up dad! i'm trying! this cheap stuff is too thin! here's charmin ultra strong! ahhh! my bottom's been saved! woohoo! with its diamond weave texture, charmin ultra strong cleans better with fewer sheets and less effort.

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amanda martin ryan from our burlington affiliate introduces us >> reporter: if you're driving through the essex, vermont neighborhood, you have to keep your eyes peeled for bikers, pedestrians, and as of recently, lola >> i think it's my most commented post ever, that she should go nationwide, viral, she should be known at scootering dog. >> reporter: 12-year-old kate taught the labradoodle the skill about a year ago >> my friend and i were hanging out, and we told my parents, we're going to teach lola how to scooter, and they're like, yeah, go ahead, try. and 30 minutes later i came back, and i was like, yeah, i got it done, she scootered >> reporter: since then, lola's been going for ride as couple times each week. she's able to push off the ground with her own paws, and

over the summer she learned how to go down the hill in her neighborhood on her own >> it took a couple weeks to get used to it and actually pedaling >> reporter: her adoption into the family is special in its own way. six months before getting lola, they lost their 2 year old pup, who was paralyzed. both dogs were from the same breeder in new hampshire >> we realized maybe she wasn't healthy in the first place so we absolutely are just over the moon with lola >> reporter: and for kate in particular, their bond is even more special >> if lola gets out of the house and she's playing and being naughty, kate can go outside and get her immediately. nobody else can, but kate can. she listens to kate. kate is her person >> reporter: and besides just scootering, lola is also fond of piggyback rides. they couldn't be more grateful

to have a dog as talented and loving as lola >> she's like dog version of me. she makes me feel better when i'm sad, and she's very, you know, loveable >> thanks to amanda martin ryan for sharing lola with us they're going to grow old together and maybe teach lowla new tricks a three-legged bear partied hard it ripped through the screen and ate fish food for the guppies. he washed the food down with two white claw set

right now at 5:00, a new captor in an explosive case. the closely watched racist text scandal rocking antioch's police department returning to court,