the choice made. gavin newsom decides who should fill the massive shoes left by

dianne feinstein what we know about california's latest senator, coming up. the deal was done with no time to spare, but what comes next breaking down the short and long-term effects of this weekend's government funding agreement. bills, bills, bills. student loan payments are back on after a long-term hiatus to the concern of millions of americans. how these borrowers are reacting to the return. give me liberty or give me the aces where the semifinal done the stage set for the ultimate showdown in women's basketball we preview the upcoming wnba finals matchup and graveyard smash as hollywood rises from the dead, some studio workers are getting a head start using their film set expertise to create the scariest haunted maze in l.a it is monday, october 2nd. "early today" starts right now >> good morning. i'm jessica layton. >> glad you can be with us i'm frances rivera breaking overnight, laphonza butler will be the next senator from the state of california

governor gavin newsom announced late sunday that he will be appointing butler to fill the senate seat vacated last week by the death of dianne feinstein. butler is the president of emily's list, a group that works to elect female democratic candidates she will be the third black woman to ever serve in the u.s. senate, as well as the first openly lgbtq person to represent the state in the chamber >> butler shared a tribute to the late feinstein on friday, calling her a titan of the senate and legendary figure for women. on saturday, feinstein's body was returned by military jet to her hometown of san francisco. mourners will be able to pay their respects this wednesday as feinstein lies in state at city hall before she is laid to rest at a private funeral on thursday this morning, the federal government remains open, thanks to the 11th hour deal passed by congress saturday. but the short-term funding extension only pushes the spending fight until next month. while the fallout from the deal

threatens to take down a republican leader. for more on this, we go the drew petrimoulx in washington what are lawmakers saying after that last deal became a reality? >> good morning, frances with hours to spare on saturday evening, president biden signed the short-term spending bill passed by song earlier that day. while the final deal cut out priorities of both sides of the aisle including ukraine, it averted a shutdown and keeps the photo open until november 17th president biden acknowledged the issues posed by this condensed time frame in remarks on sunday. biden warn to have had hard line republicans who nearly thwarted this deal over their calls for deep funding cuts doing the same when the battle resumes next month. also on the commitment to secure funding for ukraine. the republican leadership is now under a cloud of doubt house speaker kevin mccarthy has come under fire from the hard line members of his party following the passage of the bill as part of the agreement, mccarthy stuck with his party in

january. any republican can call for a vote to remove the speaker, known as a motion to vacate. here is what congressman and chief mccarthy matt gaetz said about potentially invoking this motion on sunday >> i do intend to file a motion to vacate against speaker mccarthy this week i think we need to rip off the band-aid i think we need to move on with new leadership that can be trustworthy. >> in order to oust mccarthy, gaetz would need at least five republican lawmakers to vote in favor of removal along with house democrats. in response to gaetz's potential actions, mccarthy on sunday said this is nothing new for the florida congressman, and predicted he would survive whatever challenge he faces. back to you. >> drew, thank you former president donald trump is back in manhattan this morning. overnight he confirmed he will be in court later today to fight allegations that he lied about how much his businesses and properties are worth mr. trump posted to social media that the case brought against him by new york's attorney general is a sham, and he called

it election interference nbc's george solis is following the story. >> reporter: on the campaign trail and on the offensive -- >> my financial statements are much lower than the actual net worth. this judge and your fake attorney general of new york, she ought to be ashamed of herself. >> hello, iowa. >> reporter: former president donald trump not directly addressing the start of his civil fraud trial. sources telling nbc news mr. trump is expected to be in the courtroom for the first two days a judge last week ruling that mr. trump and his associates committed real estate fraud for years. the judge writing that trump's legal arguments defending his financial statements are, quote, a fantasy world. not the real world adding that over and undervaluing assets to his benefit, quote, can only be considered fraud the trial is expected to determine the future of the trump organization, including his real estate empire, as well as any fines for alleged fraud what are the implications of

this civil fraud trial for mr. trump? >> well, if he loses and the reason he is apparently coming here tomorrow is because he doesn't want to lose, this is how important it is, if he has to pay $250 million, if he and his sons can no longer conduct business in new york, that's a fatal blow >> reporter: mr. trump has denied all wrongdoing and has called the judge in the case deranged trump faces four criminal trials, including two that federal level, one in georgia and another in new york state. the witness list on the case includes some of trump's children and former business associates, including his former attorney michael cohen >> this is the first time in his entire life that he is going to be held accountable and have to deal with the repercussions of his own personal actions >> reporter: mr. trump is on the witness list, but whether he'll testify sun known. keep in mind this trial could take weeks if not months it will be up to the judge to make the final ruling. mr. trump's legal team has already indicated that i plan to appeal back to you. >> all right, george

thank you. an amber alert has been issued in new york for a 9-year-old girl who police say was abducted while camping with her family our jesse kirsch has the latest on the search. >> reporter: a desperate search in upstate new york for charlotte sena, the 9-year-old last seen late saturday on a family camping trip who authorities believe is in imminent danger. >> they shared with me how joyful their little girl is, a fourth grader recently elected to be a class officer for student council. >> reporter: new york's governor says around 6:15, about 200 miles north of new york city, charlotte was riding her bike with friends in moreau lake state park. >> she just wanted to go around one more time by herself be that big girl, do it by herself. literally 15 minutes later she hadn't come back yet and that's really when the nightmare begins her parents knew immediately something was up >> reporter: state police say the fourth grader's bike was found, but not charlotte >> the scene was chaotic

people leaving their food, leaving their tables, just everyone in search calling the name charlotte, charlotte. >> reporter: state police activating an amber alert. >> she was last seen wearing an orange tie-dye pokemon shirt, dark blue pants, black crocs and a gray bike helmet. >> reporter: authorities searching the park by air, sonar in water and with chidmien k-9s >> reporter: no tip is too small. please help bring charlotte home jesse kirsch, nbc news we're nowadays way from possibly the largest health care strike in u.s. history a contract for 75,000 kaiser permanente workers expired over the weekend before reaching a deal for pay and benefits. skiesler continue negotiations until wednesday's planned strike the biggest impact to patients would be outpatient services

like slowdowns in pharmacy services and lab work. the powerball jackpot has hit the billion mark after saturday's drawinglaimed no winner worth just over $1 billion so that makes it the fourth largest jackpot in history the next draw willing take place tonight at 11:00 p.m. eastern time and you can't buy a better forecast right now october is bringing the heat this year. nbc meteorologist michelle grossman is tracking the warm temperatures michelle, good morning i'm okay with. this. >> i'm totally okay with this it's the last hurrah. we know that cool air is on the horizon. we're so rainy and cool and raw in the northeast for so many a long time. we had a beautiful day we're looking at another really nice day today it is warm in a lot of spots from the northern plains back to the east, 87 degrees in minneapolis. that's 22 degrees above average. 90ss will in kansas city, near 90 degree territory in oklahoma city notice back to the west. a big temperature difference we're looking really cool, kind

of wet in some spots salt lake city 55 degrees. today that 17 degrees below what is typical for this time of year same story tomorrow. we're going to keep this pattern in place we have a cold front that's kind of from new mexico all the way to north dakota. and that's creating that temperature divide so once again, 80s and 90s on tuesday. 82 degrees in green bay. nearly 20 degrees above what is typical this time of year. 80s in st. louis 92 in little rock. we're warm in the east too boston 80 degrees tomorrow still cool in the west temperatures into the 60s. also low 50s in some spots looking at 57 in salt lake city. we'll keep that pattern in place on wednesday but look what's happening here there is that cold front i was talking about. back behind it, it is cool it is wet in a lot of spots. ahead of it high pressure in a lot of parts of the east with lots of sunshine, really warm temperatures along the cold front, we're looking at the chance for heavy rain, also the chance for mountain snow showers. it's that time of year also the chance for some strong to severe storms in west texas also new mexico into parts of colorado as well

with that threat, we're looking at the chance for really large hail winds.eavy rainfall and damaging especial ly normal for that time of year too. warm in the south and southeast. temperatures 96 in houston and that's a look at your warm monday forecast. >> we will take it thank you, michelle. >> sure. gold medal simone biles making history again she is the first woman to ever land this move in competition, a roundoff into the springboard, a backhand spring on to the vault, two flips and sticking the landing. it was called the yurchenko double pike and now will be known as the biles 2 amazing. the student loan pause is officially over.

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show your sore throat who's boss. mucinex instasoothe. works in seconds. lasts for hours. back with news that the budgets of millions of americans just got tighter the student loan pause is over now and payments are due again, prompting worries about how many people will make ends meet here is nbc's priscilla thompson >> reporter: jennifer hernandez doesn't know where she'll find an additional $650 a month to pay her student loans. >> it's frustrating. i do intend to pay my student loans. it's just that the amount was so high i can't afford that. >> reporter: the 35-year-old middle school counselor in the bronx is on an income-driven repayment plan, with $91,000 in loans. >> everything that's coming in is going towards bills. >> reporter: hernandez is one of the more than 43 million student loan holders whose payments are now due after president biden's

student debt cancellation plan was struck down by the supreme court in june. 25-year-old kari has taken to tiktok to stay motivated with a six-figure student debt and an $1100 monthly payment. >> i'm lucky in a sense that i can live with my parents and i don't have to consider if i'm going to pay for groceries this month or pay for the student loans. >> reporter: if you're worried about making payments, experts say check with your loan servicer to see how much you owe and when it's due. consider an income-driven repayment plan, and beware of scams promising immediate loan forgiveness in exchange for a fee. 30-year-old bradley in connecticut owes $147,000. he's having second thoughts about getting a loan in the first place. >> being so young, and in so much debt for doing something that i thought was going to better my life, it has absolutely the biggest regret of my life. >> reporter: a reality that he and millions of others will once

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short, pacheco almost caught in the backfield instead, into the open field and accelerating pacheco in for the touchdown >> we're back to break down the biggest stories in sports, starting with sunday night football in the meadowlands with taylor swift in attendance the chiefs had a lot of blank space on the scoreboard after taking an early lead the jets came back to tie it up, only for kansas city to win 23-20. now earlier in the day, josh allen and the bills ran all over the undefeated dolphins. allen connected with stefon diggs for three scores as buffalo stampedes to the 48-20

win. and in philadelphia, the commanders tied the last game on -- or the gym on a last second touchdown, but they couldn't command anything in overtime the eagles get the ball back and walk off with the win, 34-31 back to the game at the meadowlands. i love that mike tirico, play by play said hey, swifties, we'll be with you all night, addressing the fans at the start of the game. >> nfl's got to love it because they're hitting a whole new demo who are not interested in the nfl who are watching this game it also doesn't hurt that she's got her own special team, blake lively, sophia turner, one of her dancers was there. and they've got the whole side of it. ryan reynolds brought his buddies. >> hugh jackman. come on now, that's major "a" list at the nfl. another show to watch behind the scenes sidelines. over to the wnba play-offs now, where the liberty needed one more win to punch their ticket to the finals the sun made it a competitive game down the stretch.

breanna stewart's 27-point performance put the game out of reach. for the first time in 21 years, the liberty are headed back to the wnba finals. they win, 87-84. so it is two-seeded liberty heading to las vegas with the one-seeded aces. game one of the wnba finals is next sunday. liberty run 1 of the original who has never won a title and the aces back-to-back titles here let's see if they can make it. >> i got to watch breanna stewart when she was playing at uconn a few times. i'm so happy to see her having so much success. swinging over to the final day telephone mlb regular season now. this time last week, the astros were fighting for their play-off lives. after a win over arizona, houston won the a.l. wt for the sixth time in seven years, earning the second buy in many american league. the wild card round hits off tomorrow with the rays and the rangers in tampa bay it was an emotional day in detroit where tigers legend miguel cabrera played the final

game of his 21-season career he fielded a grounder and got the runner out at first base so what a way to say goodbye >> goodbye also to terry francona you've got the guardians fans saying goodbye red sox fans i'm sure also paying their tribute still to come on "early today," we've got the details on former ftx founder's upcoming trial. and more toys r us stores are coming back with plans to expand to air, land and sea. stay with us what about a plan that covers doctor visits? emergency care? prescriptions? with the new law, 4 out of 5 customers can find a plan for $10 or less per month with financial help. healthcare.gov is here for you. enroll today for coverage starting the first of next month. what's the website again? healthcare.gov hey guys, check it out: it's mrs. stevens. they say she can make things appear out of thin air. hey!

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this spooky season from nbc los angeles, darsha philips has the details. >> reporter: the hum of machinery and the excited chatter of set designers >> we're ready to go we're going to start dressing this stuff we're going to make this creepy. it's going to be fun. >> reporter: is exactly what these studio workers need after nearly five months of silence. >> we are all out of work, and we're all itching to be creative again and do something fun. >> reporter: and with halloween around the corner -- >> we have the brightest minds in the film industry >> reporter: scott nine were dangling carrot creative knew who to call. >> devils regents, piranah 3-d, tons of horror films turkey, create the creepies. >> the haunted noise you hear that gives you shivers all throughout >> scariest. >> i would definitely say look out for some rabbit people as well as some ghouls and, you know, grotesque makeups as well. >> most hair-raising maze.

>> if we can't do it, nobody who can. >> reporter: the maze opens on october 16th >> we're going through a section that's not completely assembled yet. >> reporter: but these studio workers have nothing but time on their hands. >> this is not your backyard haunt. we have the best special effects people, the best lighting people, the best sound people, the bust makeup people >> reporter: they're pulling out all the stops. three printers and access robots are building large props most of the materials have been donated or purchased at a discount and everyone here is volunteering their time. >> this is the only time in the industry you could ever get all these professionals together that aren't working. >> reporter: the strike hasn't been easy. >> the last six months i wasn't sleeping much. >> i was barely able to get the health qualifications. >> i know people moving back with parents, with friends. >> reporter: but these people say being able to pour themselves into something

creative again has kept them going. >> it's what i needed. it's the shot in the arm if i can't work on films, this is my next step. >> reporter: and with the finest on board -- >> there will be individual scarce so each scare will have its own individual noise to it >> reporter: they promise this maze will not disappoint enter if you dare and watch your back >> i love scaring people that's what i'm going to do. >> thanks to darsha philips nor that story flexing their creativity muscles right there. and hopefully there are some members of the public be able the enjoy it. >> they said enter if you dare do you dare? >> if i have the chance to support them. >> 100%. thanks for kking offic

breaking overnight, the governor of california announces his pick to fill the senate seat of the late dianne feinstein why he chooses