parts of morocco leveled in a massive earthquake thousands are dead and more are left injured we're on the ground where the victims' families are still

sifting their lives and loved ones from the rubble 60 years after the shots rang out, a secret service agent sharing his account of the assassination of president john f. kennedy why experts say his story doesn't add up spacex grounded months after a launch pad explosion why federal regulators want the musk-backed company to make dozens of corrections before relaunching its mega rocket. she is the youngest american to take home america's grand slam title coco gauff making history on center court, and she is thanking her idol, whose record she shattered. you'll hear from young fans who are now calling her their icon this week students across the country get a surprise of a lifetime, a full ride. we'll take you into the locker rooms where the excitement and the emotions might rival the super bowl it's monday. "early today" starts right now >> good morning. i'm jessica layton. >> i'm frances rivera. we're just hours away from commemorating the 22nd anniversary of one of the

darkest days in u.s. history the attacks of september 11th, 2001 ahead of this solemn remembrance, nbc new york's marc santia spoke to the heroic members of the nypd's emergency service unit as they reflect on what they experienced on that terrible day for new york and america. >> it definitely just seems like yesterday, though. >> reporter: stepping into the past, each footstep etched into memory, it has been 22 years but in many ways, time has stood still. >> when we were on the pile after that first night, he we had fire under our feet, and you could hear the f-16s flying overhead so it was a little surreal to be in new york city and hear fighter jets flying above. >> reporter: detectives raymond and robert sajak are part of the nypd's renounced emergency service unit, dealing with some of the biggest jobs the city has ever seen. they were assigned to truck 7 on 9/11. >> we're not used to responding to planes slamming into

buildings with numerous people trapped. so it was -- i'm not going to lie. it was scary we didn't think we would probably come home. >> reporter: in fact, several members of esu never came home that day >> we think about it daily, because we're reminded of it daily. >> reporter: these detectives push forward, compel bade confidence, knowing none of their friends died in vain >> 25,000 people were saved from that building that day and they got to see their kids grow up. they god to have grandchildren, whatever they did in life, they got to do that because to have efforts of everyone put forward here that night. >> and i want was heroic with the cops and the regular civilians who worked in the building they helped. >> reporter: they also walk with a purpose, fuel bade promise never forget >> we made a promise to never forget, and we can't outside of doing police work, that's our most important job is to take care of the families of the ones that we lost. >> it's just the way it is that's what we're supposed to do >> they may have lost their

loved one, but now they're part of our family. >> reporter: and other the course of these last 22 years, never forget is more than just a phrase >> we're speaking with them, seeing how the kids are doing, seeing how they're doing, what do they got going on we've attended lacrosse games, other family functions. >> whatever they need. they'll call us up and say something is going on. and some guys are handy and stuff and they'll go over to the house and take care of something they need. and it's always been the way >> reporter: while these detectives are eternally grateful for the support from their families over the last two decades -- >> we couldn't have done it without them to go home and have a hot meal and just carry on some sense of normalcy it was a big thing for us. >> reporter: they are also thankful for the adopted family they've come to know in these years after 9/11 >> they adopted us, which was a big thing for us like they let us know it's okay. they let us know everything is going to be okay >> our thanks to marc santia for

that report. turning to morocco now, still reeling from a devastating earthquake that leveled entire towns. the death toll has risen to more than 2100, and more than 2,000 people have been injured we're getting new images of the devastation this morning as rescuers continue to search for survivors in that rubble nbc's raf sanchez is there on the ground with more >> reporter: new images of the moment this 6.8 magnitude earthquake tore through the city of marrakech >> oh my god >> reporter: and a rooftop restaurant, tourists running for their lives. >> i'm sorry, it's passing, it's passing, it's passing. >> reporter: this person fleeing as rubble crashes around them. others escaping through alleyways. the death toll rising wolf 2,100. and 48 harris after the quake, the desperate search for

survivors is now in a critical phase. bringing moments of breathless joy as some are pulled to safety but also heartbreak when the rescuers arrive too late we traveled up a winding mountain roadblocked in places by boulders to reach the village. we're standing in front of all that's left of what was once the village shrine and in the rubble and debris in front of it are these little reminders of people's shattered lives, including their mail and their bills. locals say 40 people died here more than 1% of the entire community. among them, lassen's three daughters, baby son and wife "i'm all alone now," he says "i had a home and family now i have nothing." and across morocco, in small villages and major city, families sleeping on the

streets. worried that aftershocks could still bring their homes crashing down a nation struggling first to rescue then recover and rebuild. >> our thanks to raf for that report in turkey, the rescue mission is officially under way for american scientist mark dickey trapped thousands of feet under ground after a medical emergency. medical base camps have been set up along the caveshaft to allo dickey the opportunity to rest he has already received blood transfusions underground the mission could possibly last more than a week, depending on his condition. turkish authority says more than 190 people from eight countries are taking part this the rescue. president biden today is wrapping up his trip to southeast asia with an official visit to vietnam mr. biden's trip is being closely watched for any messages to china, and the president did deliver one directly on sunday, saying, quote, i don't want to contain china. i just want to make sure that we have a relationship with china

that is on the up and up president biden came directly from the g20 meeting in new delhi. that's an assembly of world leaders that kpienz president xi jinping pointedly refused to attend the vatican held an unprecedented beatification of a polish family of nine. they were executed by nazis during world war ii for sheltering jewish people seth ulma lived with his 31-year-old wife victoria, who was pregnant and their six young children poland's president and other political and religious leaders attended the celebration and declares the family especially blessed in the church. thousands came from across the country, and pope frances said the ulmas represented a ray of light in the darkness of the war. well, emotions are still running incredibly high after coco gauff's incredible win at the u.s. open. her stunning victory ringing out across the country, with president biden congratulating her on social media. nbc's aaron gilchrist spoke with the tennis superstaring being a

champion, and what comes next. >> reporter: it was milestone moment fans will never forget. the crowd going wild as 19-year-old coco gauff took the u.s. open's women's crown, the youngest since her idol serena williams in 1999 >> hello, congratulations! >> reporter: i spoke to gauff after the match. >> to have my name on this trophy with hers is a dream that i've always dreamed and believed in but i know, i guess when you accomplish something so crazy, it doesn't feel real. >> reporter: gauff's victory igniting a fire in the world of tennis to her friends, she represents the best of the sports future. >> she is so young, and she is really good. >> i love how determined she is. she a strong force. >> she is young. she is bringing women's tennis back. >> reporter: celebrity fans sending well wishes too.

former first lady michelle obama posting "this is your moment." tennis legend roger federer saying "inspirational win. and this post from serena, "amazing." gauff telling me just how much the crowd here inspired her. >> that roar on match point was really loud. i'm grateful for every single person that believed in me and supported me >> reporter: her grand slam title started with a dream ♪ this video of an 8-year-old coco at the u.s. open resurfacing overnight. one fan declaring she was always a star a star shining for this moment in history, determined to rise toward the even brighter future. aaron gilchrist, nbc news, new york hurricane lee now a slow-moving category 3 storm, but it is still impacting american shores. let's turn to michelle grossman, who is tracking the dangers it's bringing to the beach. good morning. >> great to see you. we're going to see high surf,

not life-threatening rip country, and that's two forbess of the lesser antilles, turks and caicos, bermuda, bahamas, and eventually into the east coast of america we're looking at hurricane lee, category 3 it was category 5 on friday and then category 3 by saturday. weakened to a tropical storm on sunday it's starting to strengthen again. it's growing in size too looking at winds at 120 miles per hour it's moving slow at 8 miles per hour it was moving about 12 miles per hour it's going to continue to move painfully slow and that's going to make it difficult to impact where we're going see this land, as we head through the rest of the week this is what we're thinking in terms of the track from the national hurricane center. later today into a category 4 storm. we're going to see those winds increase category 3, still a major category, major hurricane by tuesday. and then we'll see a weekend as it kind of encounters wind shear category 2 on wednesday and thursday but friday still talking about the storm just west of bermuda we're looking at a category 1 storm.

and we're looking at that high surf andh. we're still warm this the southwest, 106 in phoenix. 98 degrees in san antonio. 96 in an anglo that's our forecast. >> michelle, thank you we're back in a minute with a new revelation from the jfk assassination. mb sreseicformerect rve meer now says, and how it could challenge the lone gunman theory from the world's number one nerve care company. nervive contains ala to relieve nerve aches, and b-complex vitamins to fortify healthy nerves. try nervive. and, try nervive pain relieving roll-on. hey guys, check it out: it's mrs. stevens. they say she can make things appear out of thin air. hey! you guys want to come in? my mom made dinner.

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was assassinated in dallas in 1963. president john f. kennedy died at approximately 1:00 central standard time. >> reporter: forming secret service agent paul land dis who was with the president that day is opening up for the first time about what he witnessed. for decades the prevailing theory was that one bullet struck jfk and then hit texas governor john connolly who was sitting in front of him. it became known as the magic bullet theory who explained one shooter could have fired all the shots. the theory is based on this bullet being found on governor connolly's gurney in the hospital now land dis says he knows how it got there he said he found that bullet lodged in the car seat behind where kennedy was killed he said he placed it on the president's gurney it was a piece of evidence he told the times and i didn't want it to disappear or get lost.

he said he grabbed it. land dis says he thinks the bullet may have rolled from kennedy's gurney to cobbly's meaning it may not have been the bullet that injured connolly. >> you studied this case for years. how significant this >> i think this is a significant piece of new evidence to support the idea that there was more than one gunman in dealey plaza. >> reporter: clint hill the secret service agent who climbed on the back of the limo after kennedy was shot questions land dis' story. >> why do you have doubts about his account? >> because if you check all the evidence, the statements, things that happened, they don't line up it doesn't make any sense to me that he's trying to put it on the president's gurney. >> reporter: but land dis who was not available for an interview with nbc news tells the times he makes mistakes in his initial reports and he's been afraid to share his true story until now. >> thank you. still to come, history on a

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right in the air, and it flies into the hands for a touchdown. >> we're back to break down the biggest stories in sports, starting with a big blowout on sunday night football. the cowboys defense forced three giants turnovers and turned them into points. tony pollard scored twice on the ground as dallas dismantled new york, 40-0 around the league, the dolphin a tagovailoa and tyreek hill it will up the chargers for over 200 yards. and christian mccaffrey ran all over the steelers in that

blowout win. not the start that many, many giants fanning were waiting for >> big blue has a lot of people waking up feeling blue today swinging to tennis, in the men's finals where novak djokovic takes the straight sets win over daniil medvedev he wins his fourth u.s. open just a year after withdrawing from the tournament over his vaccination status it is his 24th grand slam title, the most by any man in history he celebrated with a nod to another famous 24, the late kobe bryant if you did not get the see this live, this was such an incredible touching tribute to his very good friend, wearing number 24, sort of nodding and blowing a kiss to the sky. it was really beautiful. >> unexpected. great revenge right here to come back since 2021 with this win. >> yes going across the country, the last day of wnba regular season a'ja wilson scored 36 as the

aces beat the mercury by 15. wraps up the season at 34-6, good for the third best winning percentage in wnba history so they will start their quest for a second straight title tomorrow that's when they host the chicago sky. and on friday, the two-seeded liberty take on the washington mystics. all right. still to come here on "early today," we're four months removed from the starship rocket explosion. >> what you need to know about spacex's next steps to try and launch that rocket again ike tha. i started cosentyx®. five years clear. real people with psoriasis look and feel better with cosentyx. don't use if you're allergic to cosentyx. before starting get checked for tuberculosis. an increased risk of infection, some serious and a lowered ability to fight them may occur. tell your doctor about an infection or symptoms or if you had a vaccine or plan to. tell your doctor if your crohn's disease symptoms develop or worsen. serious allergic reaction may occur. best move i've ever made. ask your dermatologist about cosentyx®. to give your teeth a dentist clean feeling. start with a round brush head.

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242 years ago benedict arnold burned down new london. the town got their revenge and the missouri department of transportation detonated the bridge at roche port after 63 years. construction on the new bridge is set to begin this week. >> scholarship surprise, right after this d edition fragrances are infused with natural essential oils for authentic seasonal scents that fill your home with warmth and cheer. sometimes jonah wrestles with falling asleep... ...so he takes zzzquil. the world's #1 sleep aid brand for a better night sleep. so now, he wakes up feeling like himself. the reigning family room middle-weight champion. better days start with zzzquil nights. hey guys, check it out: it's mrs. stevens. they say she can make things appear out of thin air.

hey! you guys want to come in? my mom made dinner. make your table legendary, with country crock. mr. clean magic eraser powers through tough messes. so it makes it look like i spent hours cleaning, and you know i didn't. it makes my running shoe look like new! it's amazing. it's so good. it makes it look like i have magical powers. magic eraser and sheets make cleaning look easy. it is a stressful time of year for college students, and stakes are high for student athletes but it's a season of full of surprises for football teams across the country, as many players were surprised with full scholarships nbc's kate snow has the tear

jerking reactions. [ cheering ] >> reporter: for college football teams across the country, it's been a season of surprises and celebrations hard-working players, many walk-ones finding out in so many different ways that they finally earned full scholarships >> where's garrison? somebody delivered this for you. >> reporter: auburn defensive lineman garrison walker was handed this note from his coach. it read "congratulations, you are on scholarship." >> you are on scholarship! [ cheering ] >> and lobs it down field to jake, who streaks in for a touchdown. >> reporter: and at the university of pittsburgh, that's panthers wide receiver junior jake mcconny, learning he also got a scholarship. it's a dream come true for jake.

after losing his dad malcolm three years ago. >> he's always guiding me, you know i definitely think he would be proud. >> reporter: and this was no ordinary team meeting for the long island university sharks. >> facetime. >> reporter: that's head coach ron cooper, calling the mother of tight end reece dykstra >> cooper! >> is that reece's mom >> it is >> oh, oh, oh. you're calling to what >> i've been a little concerned. >> he is doing great we're going to pay for the rest of his school. you have no more bills [ cheering ] >> reporter: reece overwhelmed with emotion >> you know, i wake up more and more blessed each and every day. it's just -- it's great. every kid dreams of it and luckily for me it happened, you know >> reece has earned it

it isn't anything that's given >> reporter: a moment mom kim says she'll never forget >> looking at reece's face, i'm his mama i know him i just felt such a sense of grand relief and validation for him, pride just seeing the players and the coaches celebrate and honor reece. it was just -- it was overwhelming >> and our thanks to kate for that report. just life-changing i love that we're seeing it captured on video. >> yes. >> right for everybody to share. >> and i love the reaction of the teammates. when it can be so competitive even within that team, great stuff. thanks for watching "early today. i'm jessica layton

right now at 5:00, a dangerous sideshow abruptly ends with gunfire. ahead, a look at the chaotic scene that took over