veteran, son, dad. -it's time to get up. -no. hair stylist and cheerleader. so adding a “student” title might feel overwhelming. what if a school could be there for all of you? career, family, finances and mental health. it's coming along. well, it can. national university. supporting the whole you. breaking overnight, an agreement reached. writers and studios agree on a deal that could end the historic strike that has grinded hollywood to a alt republican resistance as the clock continues to tick. congress spent the weekend trying to prevent a government shutdown we're live from washington on the negotiations and the impacts this funding fight could have.

emotional exodus how a long-term conflict in eastern europe is forcing nearly 3,000 refugees to leave their home we'll have a live report reversing course why some school districts across the country are bringing back police officers amid ongoing safety concerns after a push to get rid of them. and grilled to perfection. how an unlikely restauranteur in wisconsin is filling the hearts and the bellies of her community with her new hot dog business. it's monday, september 25th. "early today" starts right now >> good morning. i'm frances rivera. >> and hi, everyone. i'm jessica layton 146 days after picketing began, the writers guild of america has announced a tentative deal with hollywood studios on a new contract the agreement, if agreed to by members, would bring an end to the historic writers strike that began in may in a statement, the negotiating committee called the deal exceptional and praised the solidarity of the striking members for making it a reality.

in the fight for a new contract, writers demanded higher composition and resid yuls as well as stronger protections against the use of ai. they'll remain on strike until sag-aftra reaches its own deal with the studios house republicans spent the weekend negotiating over plans to fund the federal government and prevent a shutdown at the end of this week but as time runs out for the house to act, internal divisions within the party that controls congress will make any deal easier said than done. for more on this, we go to nbc's drew petrimoulx in washington. drew, what went on in washington this weekend >> germany, frances. as you said, congress has until saturday to pass the funding bill and prevent a funding shutdown several services will be disrupted if congress fails to act by the september 30th deadline most notably, four million government employees would go without pay, and some federal offices would have to close or face shortened hours after going home last week without coming to a compromised deal, house republicans worked through the weekend to hash out

a path forward on this issue despite these efforts, it appears that very little progress was made. hard-line members of the party continue to dig in their heels on spending cuts and calling for balancing the nation's budget. on sunday, speaker of the house kevin mccarthy spoke to nbc about those in his party blocking appropriations bills and the eventual outcome of this government funding battle. >> it's almost that they want to walk you into a shutdown and then blame you for the shutdown. it doesn't make a lot of sense to me. i think we should show we can govern i think we're able to work through this at the end of the day, get there. >> amid the republican impact, some have raised the possibility of a bipartisan bill to prevent a shutdown last week the bipartisan problem solvers caucus introduced a budgetary framework that would fund the government through mid-january. caucus co-chair josh gottheimer said on cnn sunday they are focused on keeping the lights on but some republicans have

threatened speaker mccarthy with removal from the speakership if he were to reach across the aisle to come to a deal. back to you. >> all right drew, thank you. just days after his indictment on major bribery and corruption charges, new jersey senator bob menendez is now facing calls from his own party to resign. but the democrat is pushing back against the allegations and saying he isn't going anywhere nbc's julie sirkin has more. >> reporter: new calls from members of his own party for indicted senator bob menendez to resign. >> i do believe it is in the best interests for senator menendez to resign. >> reporter: despite the new jersey democrat denying any wrongdoing and saying he is not going anywhere, indicating he will fight the bribery charges against him, and accusing the growing list of officials urging him to step down of, quote, rushing to judge a latino. >> as a latina, there are absolutely weighs in which there is systemic bias

but i think what is here in this indictment is quite clear. >> reporter: menendez facing his second corruption indictment in less than a decade this time he and his wife accused of a sweeping bribery scheme prosecutors alleging the chair of the powerful foreign relations committee accepted gold bars in cash in an illegal effort to help three businessmen and egyptian officials nearly the entire congressional delegation from his state saying menendez can't continue to serve. and john fetterman becoming the first democrat senator to say menendez, quote, not continue to wield influence over national policy. >> i've called on him given the gravity of the charges to step aside. >> reporter: but new york congressman george santos, himself the target of a federal investigation with a different take do you think senator menendez should resign? >> i think everybody is innocent until proven guilty. i don't think he should resign, no >> our thanks to julie for that report a hearing is set today on long island, new york to decide where the gilgo beach murder

suspect's guns should end up earlier this month, the suffolk county d.a.'s office filed a motion to return the more than 200 weapons to nassau county police where he could face gun possession charges heuerman's attorney wants the guns returned to the family argue thanksgiving could sell them to raise money. heuerman is facing first-degree murder and is not expected to be in the courtroom for the hearing. nearly 3,000 armenian refugees have arrived after fleeing nagorno-karabakh it comes days after the enclave was taken over during a military offensive. claudio, good morning. >> reporter: good morning, jessica. well, there is about 120,000 ethnic armenians living in nagorno karabakh even after he seized it, as as

bayan pledges that it wants to give them all equal rights as citizens, the prime minister of armenia during a televised address on sunday said that they face now ethnic cleansing, and that many are leaving, fleeing their homes for fear of reprisal and persecution. now on a statement published on its website this morning, the armenian government said that as you mention, up to 3,000 people have now left nagorno ckarabakh about half are probably staying with family or friends but they had to provide more than a thousand of them with government-funded housing. they said that they will welcome all or any ethnic armenian who wants to flee nagorno karabakh and find shelter in are mean yarks but also fears there will be an exodus unless azerbaijan

introduces evidence to prevent ethnic cleansing though those who are left behind may face a humanitarian crisis as soon as they're left without shelters and perhaps food may run out soon in the meantime, on the political front, today the president of turkey, erdogan will be in azerbaijan. he will meet the president of azerbaijan for bilateral meetings talking about regional and global issue, of course, according to, the situation in nagorno karabakh back to you. >> a lot of parts to this claudio, thank you. it was frightening rescue for boaters in north carolina impacted by tropical storm ophelia. five people needed to be saved from an anchored 38-foot catamaran in the cape lookout area after the owner of the boat called the u.s. coast guard in the evening saying the weather was looking alarming when crews arrived, waves were nearly 8-feet high with occasional ten-foot swells, not to mention the whipping winds.

amazingly, there were no reported injuries. and storm is still lingering across the east coast, giving a lot of us a very wet start to the workweek michelle grossman is tracking all that rain. michelle, make it stop. >> i wish i could. we will see slight improvements. it's going to be slow. but by wednesday, looking much, much better. tomorrow we still have clouds in place. we're going to see periods of rain today as well a soggy start. it was raw weekend an an indoor weekend. we're seeing the rain still falling as the low is off the coast of new jersey. you could see some rain bands that are a little heavier too, where you see the brighter colors of reds, the oranges, the yellows. that's where we're seeing the heavier rain bands that will be the case as we go throughout the morning we'll start to improve later today, tomorrow and especially on wednesday so here is a setup we have the remnants of ophelia, bringing periods of rain throughout the day we saw gale warnings, also some really rough surf. you know where that is if you live nearby you want to move your car. and possible up to a half inch

of rain in some spots that includes portions of new england into the northeast, long island too. and we could see some flooding from that. also wet in the west we have an atmospheric river we saw that yesterday. we're going to see it once again today. this powerful low is pushing this atmospheric river it's like a river in the sky of water. and it's bringing ample moisture of heavy rains, really gusty winds. all day in the pacific northwest from portions of washington and oregon also northern california and again, some heavy rain in spots. where you see the reds, the oranges the yellows. along thf new england, where we're going see the remnants of ophelia lingering off the coast, bringing a soggy day all right. that's a look at your monday forecast, guys. >> michelle, thank you a nassau capsule containing

precious asteroid samples from space is back on earth this marks the first time the agency has brought asteroid samples to our home planet touchdown was confirmed before 11:00 a.m. sunday morning. the asteroid is estimated to have formed in the first ten million years of the solar system's existence, and the samples could help scientists unlock secrets about the solar system and how it came to be when "early today" returns, we're diving into the latest debate, sweeping skal hallways >>artssk pen aing for school resource officers to return to campuses why other families are pushing back of advanced hair complex. conquer hair thinning... ...and fall in love with your hair all over again. only from nature's bounty. for your most brilliant smile, crest has you covered. ♪♪ (laughing) nice smile, brad. nice! thanks? crest 3d white. 100% more stain removal. crest.

♪ vicks vapostick provides soothing, non-medicated vicks vapors. [exhales] easy to apply for the whole family. vicks vapostick and try vaposhower for steamy vicks vapors. did you guys remember career day last year? lane hartzel came as a hershey's taste tester. well i told hershey about that. seeing the way that hershey's has made the dream come true... has just really been exciting. thank you, lane! we're back with the new debate over police officers in schools. many dribs across the country chose to get rid of them over concerns they weren't treating students equally but now many are bringing officers back. here's priscilla thompson on what's behind the reversal >> reporter: in olympia,

washington >> 15-year-old student was arrested around 9:30 the morning. >> reporter: two incidents of students bringing in guns. >> any time a get a message like that, i'm concerned roar but here at schools across the district, there are no on-campus police in the wake of george floyd's murder in 2020, olympia and dozens of other school districts across the country decided they no longer needed school resource officers known as sros in olympia, some parents are now fighting to bring them back. >> this is something we need to address immediately. >> reporter: frank drocher has two kids in the district and is running for school board >> these are specially trained police officers that have gone through direct training to know exactly how to best approach these students in these situations >> reporter: the school board now moving to reinstate them and they're not alone. denver public schools got rid of its sros in 2020 >> we begin with another

shooting and another sad commentary on violence. >> reporter: but after two school shootings, the district brought them back this year. they've also returned to certain districts in california, maryland, and virginia >> not all students feel safe with armed police officers on ca campus. >> reporter: talan reed opposes school police, even after those guns were found on campus. >> their there are parents who say these officers do make kids safer. what do you say to them? >> their children may be safer, but they're from a certain demographic and a certain group. we have just as many saying absolutely not >> reporter: research shows that black students are involved in more than 80% of violent police encounters in schools, and students with disabilities, more than 25% a concerned voice by students in olympia. >> i as a student am not at all comfortable with police walking the same halls as me. >> reporter: as parents work toward a common goal. >> we need to have the trust that our kids are going to a

safe place. >> at the end of the day, it's about protecting. >> reporter: with different solutions. priscilla thompson, nbc news coming up on "early today," a groom asks someone he's never met in person before to be his best man so'll share the moving rean. and later, details on a mattress recall you won't want to miss. isn't at its best. but a little metamucil everyday can help. metamucil's psyllium fiber gels to trap and remove the waste that weighs you down and also helps lower cholesterol and slows sugar absorption to promote healthy blood sugar levels. so you can feel lighter and more energetic. lighten every day the metamucil way. and for a delicious way to promote digestive health try metamucil fiber thins. air wick. air wick's limited edition fragrances are infused with natural essential oils for authentic seasonal scents that fill your home with warmth and cheer.

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we're back now with how the kindness of a stranger gave one man a second chance at life and created an unbreakable bond. nbc's kate snow has the story. >> ben, you may kiss your bride. >> reporter: when ben clark and jamie yule got married in iowa this month, ben's best man was someone he had met for the first time just the day before >> hi, nice to meet you. >> yeah, you bet >> reporter: jan rolfus traveled all the way from sweden to walk

ben down the aisle. >> ladies and gentlemen, i'm honored to introduce ben's best man, jan rolfus. [ applause ] >> let's start with you, ben what was it like to meet >> oh, it was great. great to meet for the first time obviously wouldn't be here if it wasn't for him so. >> you feel it >> what are you looking for? >> jan and ben, bound by a life-saving gift more than ten years ago and thousands of miles away, jan was a match when ben needed a stem cell transplant for a rare form of blood cancer. jan had donated his stem cells through dkms, an international nonprofit dedicated to the fight against blood disorders, a simple procedure he says took just a couple of hours jan, was it difficult? >> no, not at all.

>> we're proof right here that somebody from sweden can save somebody's life here in the midwest. >> reporter: the two of them remained strangers until ben reached out to jan on email a few years back and when ben proposed the jamie -- >> could i see those rings >> he knew he wanted jan standing by his side >> i was pretty overwhelming we -- i just without him i wouldn't be here and that's what this is all about. >> reporter: ben giving his best man this gift with the engraving thank you for giving me life i am forever grateful. >> you think you'll be connected for the rest of your lives >> oh, absolutely. >> reporter: what does it say about the human spirit >> sometimes you can do tiny things that are just right to do and can have a big impact. >> our thanks to kate snow for sharing that story he is family now he should be the best man. that's a really sweet gesture. >> i can see some godfather role

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either a full refund or free replacement by calling customer service. and spacex launched 22 starlink satellites from cape canaveral saturday, tying a 17 liftoffs for the falcon 9 rocket up next, meet the 83-year-old serving more than just hot dogs. hey! you guys want to come in? my mom made dinner. make your table legendary, with country crock. do you struggle with occasional nerve aches main your hands or feet?y, try nervive nerve relief 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. air wick. air wick's limited edition fragrances are infused with natural essential oils for authentic seasonal scents that fill your home with warmth and cheer. when you smell the amazing scent of gain flings...

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85-year-old joanne dehart or boss lady jojo does at hot dignity dogs. >> i love people and i love helping people. and that's what it's all about >> but this isn't her first time in the restaurant biz. back in 1980, joanne and her husband opened frandina's, one of the few restaurants serving up hot food. >> after my husband passed away in 2010, i volunteered at a thrift store in shape pin. good works you know, the old restaurant is still standing why don't i do that. and one of my workers said that's a fine thing for you to do >> reporter: so joanne got to it, turning the old frandeena's serving people all throughout the community. but joanne still felt like something was missing. >> nobody had anything to eat around here. so i said, you know, why don't

we do a similar small hot dog stand. >> reporter: and that's how jay's hot dignity dogs was born. if you're wondering what you should get when you stop by, well, joanne does have a suggestion. >> a hot dog all the way with chilly, mustard, onions, everything >> reporter: with a thrift shop and a hot dog stand you think she would have her hands full, but it turns out the only thing full is her heart. >> i love people and i love doing what i'm doing it's a joy to come to work >> our thanks to jordan markoff for that report. and i just love her. >> hot dignity dog we all do too, and that attitude now to the last sunday in september. it's national gold star mother's day. but we didn't want to miss an opportunity to recognize these special moms >> the gold star mother gets not invited, but put into a club it's for moms whose sons or

daughters were killed in service to our nation. it's a club that you don't want to be in, but it's a club that everybody who is in it, we're there to support each other. >> we are certainly grateful for the sacrifices of these moms, these families and honor them on special days like gold star mother's day and every day as we find new ways to support and say thank you from our heart

possible government shutdown, how lawmakers are working on a deal. border patrol agents make a desperate move to save the lives of agents crossing the rio grande, why officials in the border cities say they are at a breaking point. tech tries to offer a new fit for the fashio