president biden and his ukrainian counterpart set to sit down at the white house today. we'll have a live report from washington on the challenges facing volodymyr zelenskyy one week since flash floods killed thousands if libya, new details explain why the devastation was so deadly. we explain what went wrong

the federal reserve holding back from another interest rate hike what it signals for the economy and how it could impact your wallet katy perry's teenaged dream now has a price tag. >> oh, my gourd! meet the family working together to grow a giant pumpkin worthy of dollywood "early today" starts right now good morning, i'm frances rivera >> i'm jessica layton. amidst a fight over government funding that could lead to a government shoutdown, the ukrainian president will head to washington to try to make the case to our nation's leaders to continue the fight against russia >> how did the federal funding fight tie into the war in ukraine? >> reporter: good morning jessica, frances as part of his trip to the u.s. which already included speaking at this week's general assembly, he is headed to washington, d.c.

today ahead of his meeting with president biden at the white house later this afternoon, sl zelenskyy will meet with lloyd austin and members of the senate at the u.s. capitol. both parties will confront the issue of continued u.s. support for ukraine as the war with russia enters its 19th month the biden administration is urging congress to approve rther military aid for ukraine. however, in the race to pass spending bills and prevent a government shutdown by the end of september, additional support for ukraine has been absent from the bills introduced by the republican majority in the house. house speaker kevin mccarthy, who will also be meeting with zelenskyy today outlined wednesday what he wanted to hear from the ukrainian president before committing to further aid. >> i think a hot of plot of peoe the question of, what's the strategy to win. i want to make sure there's accountability of where the resources are going. i want to see a plan of what

we're looking for, for victory and i think members will have their questions as well. >> reporter: support from congressional republicans and the american people for continued aid for ukraine has dropped since the war began. anthe same is true for the american people. more than half of the people surveyed in a cnn poll from last month say that the u.s. has done enough to help ukraine, compared to 62% when the war began. the u.s. has committed over $110 billion in assistance to ukraine since 2022, and that's a factor that seems to weigh heavily on everyone's mind when considering tho how to support ukraine moving forward. the u.s. is granting temporary protected status to nearly half a million venezuelans that have been living in the chunts before july 31st this gives them temporary relief from deportation dhs cited the extraordinary conditions that prevent many

venezuelan nationals from returning to their home country and for taking this action democratic lawmakers have been pushing to grant tps to migrants as illegal border crossings continue to spike. a former top aide from the trump white house is making serious allegations in a new book cassidy hutchinson, who was a key witness during the house january 6 hearing alleges that she was groped by rudy giuliani on the day of the insurrection she says joil reached his hand under her blazer and skirt when they were back stage during then-president trump's speech at the ellipse. it is confirmed to nbc news that it is accurate a spokesperson for giuliani called it a disgusting lie the senate voted on its first military nominee in months, confirming charles q. brown jr nominations have been at a stand still since february due to

alabama republican tommy tuberville's blockade. while confirmation is typically done by voice vote, cluck sch chuck schumer brought the vote to the floor after it was reported that tuberville will do the same for another nominee. pro armenian separatist forces have agreed to a cease-fire paving the way for azerbaijan to take control of a long-disputed territory. to help us understand how this surrender came about and what it means for the region, we turn to kelly cobiella good morning >> reporter: frances, good morning to you they've awarded war in this area the power dynamic is changing rapidly, because of this latest flareup of violence. this is how it started azerbaijan launched military

strikes on tuesday in the legion they're trying to dislodge the ethnic armenian separatists who have controlled the area for three decades since the so the soviet union broke apart ten civilians have been killed it's internationally recognized as part of azerbaijan but has a large ethnic armenian population who has s opinion in control foa vbeen in control for a very long time russia has stepped in to mediate the latest deal. the separatist government basically giving up saying its forces would disband under the new deal and it essentially didn't have the backing of armenia this time in order to fight on and this move has sparked massive protests and anger in

armenia. people demanding that the government protect the local ethnic population in that legion some even calling for the prime minister to be impeached over this the white house has voiced its concern. national security spokesman john kirby saying the u.s. is deeply concerned. and there is a u.n. security council emergency meeting scheduled for today on this topic. frances? >> kelly, thank you. libya's recovery continues just a week after some devastating floods killed thousands there. the city of derna was one of the hardest hit with tens of,000 feared dead. >> but it wasn't one failure that led to this level of destruction. angie lassman joins us with a look at the series of event tass caused this catastrophe. gove good morning. >> you're right. it's more than one bad storm but that is where it all started. stormdaniel wreaked havoc in

the mediterranean region last week hitting turkey, greece and bulgaria, and it turned into a rare type of storm called med cain it's a combination, and we usually see them once or twice a year according to noaa they saw winds reaching up to 80 miles per hour that's when the weather agency issued warnings and derna's mayor called for evacuation. but two dams north of the city were already strained. and in the early hours of september 11, the upper dam collapsed sending billions of gallons into the smaller dam which eventually burst as well recovery continues there, but scientists do warn these medicanes will become more f frequent due to global warming turning to recovery efforts in hawaii where victim whose

lost their homes have been relying on hotels for shelter. now they say they are are being evicted. >> reporter: in the weeks since the deadly maui fires, confusion over where to live and for how long has been a pressing issue for thousands of displaced residents. >> we're all scrambling to try to find another place. >> reporter: charles nahale lost his home in the fire, he's since been living at the sands resort but just received a letter from the hotel company saying the unit he's been living in won't be available after september 30th. >> a real disgrace for all of us who are displaced and lost everything >> reporter: the hotel management company did not respond to our request for comment. but they write on their website, with services slowly returning to west maui resorts, we are gradually welcoming back reservations in october per the governor's instructions.

the relocation a major point of contention for residents across the island >> our thanks to erin mclaughlin for that report. california is nearing the end of its largest dam deconstruction effort. experts say removing the dams will help heal rivers and the salmon populationen ands and co hope the state become more drought resistant as a whole >> the northeast could see rain this weekend let's bring back in angie lassman with a look at the weather on the way >> you're exactly right. we have a couple spots we'll keep a close eye on in the center of the country later this afternoon into the evening hours we could see some of those strong storms the hail, wind gusts, maybe a tornado or two centered across the center of the country. as we look ahead to tomorrow and

the weekend, though, really soggy conditions are on the way for much of the east coast of not just the northeast even. we'll see low pressure likely develop across the southeast coast maybe becoming subtropical. it stretches into the mid atlantic as we get into tomorrow we'll see heavy rain and the potential for gusty winds. i'll show you the peak wind gusts in a moment. but all of this continues as it's moved to the north as we get into your saturday, a soggy saturday, stretching across much of new england, the northeast, down through the mid atlantic still and will even keep rain around in time for sunday across that that same legion there's those peak wind gusts that i promised. 45 miles per hour in

men plenty of sunshine for jackson and shreveport loo looking out west, phoenix will hit 96 and that's a look at your forecast, ladies, back over to you. the fed holding back on interest rates >> cnbc's arabile joins us to explain why and what it means for your wallet. d what it means for your wallet. ♪ yeah, ♪ ♪ so let's get it ♪ ♪ i'm feeling good vibes ♪ listen, your deodorant just has to work. i use secret aluminum free. just swipe and it lasts all day. secret helps eliminate odor, instead of just masking it. and hours later, i still smell fresh. secret works! ohhh yesss. ♪♪ 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.

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until the deadline house speaker kevin mccarthy says there is plenty of time to reach a deal and avoid a government shutdown. >> look, it's not september 30 the game is not over we continue to work through it and i've been at this place many times before we're going to solve this problem. we're very close >> mccarthy's latest proposal includes a 30-day spending bill, but he does face opposition from far-right house members. let's get an update on the outlook for the economy. the federal reserve has decided to leave interest rates unchanged for now. for more on what this means, we're joined by airrabile good morning >> good morning. it's a decision that was perhaps anticipated from the fed, no hike in those interest rates the key question mash was what w mark was what was going to happen later.

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♪ and you're going to hear me roar ♪ >> we breaking down the biggest buzz in entertainment this morning. at first, katy perry is living a multi-million dollar dream she is selling her music catalog for a whopping $225 million. the deal includes the masters and publishing rights to her five studio albums which feature hits like "teenaged dream" and as you heard "roar". put it in perspective. bieber sold his for $200 million. justin timberlake also around that, $100 million it's up there. >> it is a treasure. swifties finally unlocke unlock title puzzle fans were able to complete the 33 million puzzles to find out the names of the new songs so the five never-before-heard

tracks will be heard on taylor's version of the 1989 album. swifties, you keep breaking the internet ticketmaster, then google. glad to see that's all sorted out now. >> that's later in october when that comes out afte writers strike could be nearing the end. after the reps for the writers guild and alliance of motion picture producers returned to the bargaining table, both sides are hoping to finalize a deal today. over 11,000 tv and movie writers walked off the job on may 2nd and have since been picketing for fair compensation, protections against ai and better working conditions. it might take a while. when we come back, the headlines you need to know to start your thursday morning. including a customer accident that could cause

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it is consumers versus corporations in the courtroom. and research is out on junk food here's what you need to know early today. a family takes goog toll court after a father died driving off a collapsed bridge while using google directions. the lawsuit claims google was aware of the 9 year old hazard. mcdonald's faces a lawsuit after a woman experienced coffee that was too hot the franchise says her complaint is being taken seriously a new study suggests a junk food diet may negatively impact your mental health and this airport in

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[♪♪] ♪ i gotta good feeling about this, yeah ♪ ♪ i'm with it ♪ ♪ i gotta good feeling about this ♪ ♪ yeah, ♪ ♪ so let's get it ♪ ♪ i'm feeling good vibes ♪ a family in virginia has a special knack for growing giant pumpkins they do so well dolly parton even want add piece. our bristol, virginia affiliate has the perfect story to start your fall. >> reporter: at hidden springs farm in bandy, virginia,

priscilla edwards and her boyce are hard at work taking care of their crops. >> i love farming, because it teaches my boys everything >> reporter: from math >> what have we got? 87 >> reporter: to agriculture and hard work. >> i think it's a very rewarding to teach your kids how to put in the work because if you work hard, you're going to see great rewards after. >> reporter: priscilla, caden and nolan have all been working hard recently to grow some giant pumpkins >> we have season passes at dolly wood fall is our favorite time to go. and we've seen the giant pumpkins >> and i just said i wish i can grow a big punkin like that. >> and we decided, hey, we're going to grow them and our goal was to maybe get some displayed in dollywood one year >> reporter: so the edwards planted the seeds, working each day to take care of them >> they would say, our first year we should easily hit 500

pounds don't be stressed out if we don't. this is a hard sport >> reporter: the pumpkins in the edwards' patch would grow and grow, leaving many driving by saying "oh, my gourd". so how big are these pumpkins? i'm about 6'3" this is the biggest pumpkins, godzilla, it stands 48 inches tall and over a thousand pounds. >> if you work hard, you get rewards. >> reporter: and the reward was dollywood wanting some of the edwards' pumpkins. >> we heard they're going to take our punkins, and it was exciting for us. >> i was shocked at first, didn't think it would happen, but when dollywood showed interest in our three biggest pumpkins we were just, it's like beyond i may have even cried a little bit, because it was our goal, our goal was to grow a giant and one day get it in dollywood. and here we are, it was exciting for all of us. >> reporter: a dream come true for the edwards family >> and our thanks for that

story. who knew pumpkins could be so emotional for a family >> speaking of, are you ready for halloween in still ahead on the "today" show, americans can expect a scare when it comes to the cost of spooky season. get the top tips for folks looking to scope out early deals for candy, decorations and this year's most popular costumes >> can't wait, i know you're full on. >> you know me, i love halloween. thanks for watching "early thanks for watching "early today," i' subway refreshed everything. and now, they're slicing their deli meats fresh. that's why the new subway series subs are proffered by this qb. and proffered by his old backup qb. and if we proffer it, we know you'll proffer it too. have you been behind me this whole time? yep.

more news on the way re news on y president biden meets with israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu in new york city the potentially historic peace deal and why where this handshake took place caused its own uproar a manhunt in indiana after a murder suspect was able to walk free the mig mi