breaking this morning, an unprecedented conflict israel and palestine suffer masses losses of life after hamas unleashes a deadly assault over the weekend we have the latest on how the world is reacting to this war. americans caught in the

crossfire. at least four u.s. citizens are confirmed dead after this week's violence in israel we're live from washington with a full report on the u.s. perspective. plus, what the white house is pledging for one of its closest allies jumping on the bandwagon amid a countrywide crusade against controversial books. one truck is on a mission to get as many banned titles into readers' hands as possible drake is saying take care for the time being find out why he is temporarily stepping out of the spotlight after dropping his latest album. and everyone hail to the pumpkin king one fan of spooky season in rhode island has carved out a tradition with his next level halloween decorations. it is monday, october 9th, and "early today" starts right now >> good morning. thanks for starting the week with us. i'm frances rivera. >> and i'm jessica layton. we're learning more about the horrific surprise attack on israel that has launch and

all-out war. survivors describing militants from gaza slaughtering people at a music festival, and new reports of hamas taking hostages officials say at least 700 people have been killed in israel, and the death toll in gaza has surpassed 400 three sources tell nbc news the u.s. lawmakers were told at least fore four americans are among the dead, and that number sadly is expected to rise. for more on washington's response to all of this, nbc's alice barr joins us live from d.c. alice, good morning. the united states is of course a close ally of israel so what are we seeing now from our military >> well, that's right. just big picture the u.s. has always supported israel, calling it the lone democracy in that region we know that president biden has been in close contact with israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu. nbc news has learned that the u.s. military is moving some ships and aircraft closer to israel as a show of support and deterrence and defense secretary lloyd austin says the u.s. will begin

supplying israel with munitions and other supplies immediately he says that the pentagon will remain in close contact with its israeli counterparts to ensure they have what they need the u.s. already provides $3.8 billion a year in military assistance to israel there have been questions about iran's potential role in this attack u.s. secretary of state antony blinken acknowledged that iran and hamas have had a long relationship, but says he has not yet seen evidence that iran was directly involved in this attack he did suggest on nbc's "meet the press" that recent efforts to normalize relations between israel and saudi arabia could have been a motivating factor. >> it's no surprise that those who are opposed to the talks, those who are opposed to israel normalizing its relations with neighbors and those beyond the region are hamas, hezbollah, and iran and so it's entirely possible that one of the motivations for

this attack was to try to derail these efforts to advance normalization. >> blinken also said the u.s. was working to confirm the reporting about americans who have been killed, and said it is possible u.s. citizens are among those kidnapped by hamas officials tell nbc news the u.s. is working through possible plans for helping americans evacuate israel, and that while nothing has been decided or ordered, one option is to put american citizens on to u.s. navy ships to get them to safety jessica and frances? >> all right, alice, thank you israel is unlikely to ever be the same again after a weekend of unprecedented terror. palestinian hamas militants poured over the border from the gaza strip, overrunning israeli village, and murdering hundreds of people. dozens of hostages have been brought to gaza. four american citizens are confirmed among the dead, and that number is expected to rise. let's go live to claudio lavanga who is following developments

for us good morning, it's just past 10:30 a.m. in israel right now what's the latest this morning >> good morning, frances the israeli defense forces say so far at least 700 israelis were killed. more than 2,000 were injured, and dozens were taken hostage throughout the weekend but they also said that the death toll, they expect the death toll the rise now. many of the victims were young people attending a music festival nearby the border with gaza the survivors told harrowing accounts of how they started to run for their lives to hide when they saw all of the sudden missiles flying overhead and militants charging at them with gun blazing. now the u.s. national security council confirmed that there are americans among the dead they didn't say how many, but at least according to three sources familiar with the briefing given to u.s. lawmakers last night, there should be at least four americans among the victims. now the emergency continues on israeli territories. the israeli forces said that at

least a thousand militants crossed over the birthdayer from gaza into israeli territories throughout the weekend they still have the capability to pros the border, and the israeli forces are still fighting the militants inside israel's territory now in retaliation against the surprise attacks, israel continues to pound, to bomb gaza with air strikes, using jet fighters and helicopters they said that overnight they strike and hit 500 targets, including command centers from hamas and islamic jihad, the paramilitary group inside gaza but because of the densely populated enclave, those air strikes of course will affect also civilians and palestinian health ministry said so far because of the air strikes, 400, more than 400 palestinians, including tens of children have been killed so far, and more of them, 2,000 were injured but this looks like the

beginning of a very long, deadly and bloody, if not the longest battles between israel and hamas so far frances? >> israel calling it their 9/11. claudio, thank you and the crisis in the middle east is now fueling demonstrations thousands of miles away over the weekend, there was a tense face-off in new york city. people supporting palestine just feet away from groups standing for israel nbc's kathy park spoke with demonstrators on both sides. >> reporter: what brought you out here today >> to stand against the oppression that has been occurring in palestine for over the past five decades. >> have i friends who live in israel i have family who live in israel i've seen violence there before. we've all seen that. but this is really on another level completely >> the nypd keeping close watch on the ground and in the air, launching drones to monitor those crowds meanwhile, in salt lake city, police increased their patrols

following unspecified threats targeting jewish institutions. sin goings in miami beach and beverly hills are also ramping up their security as well. misinformation is adding to the confusion of war a doctored press release from the white house has been circulating online it falsely claimed that the biden administration has authorized $8 billion in emergency aid to israel. but the document appears to be a doctored version of an older memo announcing help for ukraine. the false information has reached a wide audience. i was shared by verified accounts on x, the platform that was once twitter the democratic governor of california, gavin newsom, is being criticized for vetoing some key state bills, including one that would have capped the cost of insulin at $35 a month he is instead prioritizing a plan for the state to produce cheap insulin. that project has no clear timeline right now newsom also vetoed a bill that would have made free condoms available to high school students he says he rejected the measure

because it was too expensive newsom did sign a new bill banning online hidden charges, the so-called junk fees in california that state currently struggles with a more than $30 billion deficit. on this monday, we're starting off the week with chilly weather nbc meteorologist michelle grossman joins us with our monday forecast. good morning, michelle. >> good morning. sweater weather is back. temperatures well below normal for this time of year. 13 million people waking up to freeze alerts. frost advisories includes green bay and milwaukee, down to the appalachians as well we're just above freezing in some spots this morning. one of the spots, duluth 36 degrees. lots of low 40s on the map early this morning too 41 in detroit. it's 45 in omaha 46 in charleston, west virginia. 51 degrees in new york city. and we're going to keep it cool as we go throughout this monday. so that autumn chill is in place again. temperatures 5 to 15 degrees below what is typical for this time of year staying in the 40s in marquette, into the 50s in detroit.

low 50s buffalo. 62 in charleston, west virginia. and also new york city, 61 degrees. but we'll have lots of sunshine. so that will help. tomorrow we're looking at temperatures in the 50s as well in rochester also in cleveland, we're looking at green bay just 53egrees th dat mid-80s. near 90 degrees in dallas. 80 degrees in oklahoma city. and 85 in houston. and that's your monday forecast. >> okay, michelle, thank you so much fleet week is wrapping up in san francisco. the headliners for the event were of course the pilots with the blue angels. that's the iconic flight squadron for the u.s. navy the pilots got to greet fans and sign some autographs one blue angel who grew up in that area said this was a dream

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moms for liberty are trying to remove hundreds of titles from schools in public library shelves. the banned wagon. >> by and about communities that are marginalized >> joelle owns a local bookstore here that is hosting the wagon that is organized by penguin random house and a handful of nonprofits. >> banned book once of our top priorities sort of educating the public about the dangers of censorship. >> reporter: you might recognize some of the books banned in parts of the country include critically acclaimed works like the kite runner and maya angelou's "i know why the caged bird sings". >> banned books. >> i got you >> reporter: the day not only a call to action be, ah celebration of free speech ♪ >> i'm a musician, but i'm also a writer, and i love books

>> my friends got some other books. we're all going to exchange. >> a lawmaker stopped by. >> we're banning books, but we're not banning things like assault weapons, which are actually a danger to our youth. >> and even a pastor. >> when we restrict people's options, we're living out of fear and not faith. >> reporter: not pictured on this day, lawmakers and groups behind the push to ban certain books. they say many of the titles in question push sexual or mature content. >> there has been books put in our libraries that are obscene in nature. and certainly not age appropriate for our children. >> reporter: moms for liberty telling nbc news, clearly, if these books are being purchased and offered from this wagon, they're not banned if books are too inappropriate to be shown on national television, they should not be offered to children in government-funded schools. they have tracked a rise in book bans with a record 1200 attempts logged in 2022 and that year is on pace to set another record here in nashville with another day's work in the books, the

banned wagon hits the road and runs to the next spot in the culture war and seems to have many more chapters to come. >> our thanks to noah pransky for that report. beaches along the florida keys are looking a little bright their morning. a 150-year-old lighthouse in lease islamorada is shining again after a group spent $6 million to restore and preserve it it comes amid a national effort to save light houses across. it was first lit for helping sailors navigate the keys back in 1873 until it then went dark in 2013. still to come, the exorcist otares paw patrol out of the top sp at the box office and new app is giving people a chance to look into the past choose stelara® from the start... and move toward relief after the first dose...

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place ancient buildings on the user's screen. it features a collection of marble sculptures removed from the parthenon and the goddess athena so you can experience it right there. done by the greek cultural ministry i'm sure other countries would follow i would love to see the coliseum in italy. >> yes, yes. all the attractions in italy canadian rapper drake is headed for a hiatus after real rest vealing he is suffering from stomach issues on his table for one xm series. he stated, quote, i probably won't make music for a little bit. i need to focus on my health first and foremost the news coming the same day as the release of his eighth studio album for all the dogs he said something to the effect i've had crazy stomach issues for years. we know bruce springsteen has too. he put his tour on hold for something similar. good for them for prioritizing themselves and their health. >> he said it might be as long as a year. coming up on "early today," how one exercise maybe is as

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perry's home in cranston, pumpkins are being picked up and brought in a bag out front >> usually i don't start until october 1. but this year i want it to be done for october 1 >> reporter: while many decorate for fall, tim takes it to another level. >> i've always loved halloween since i was a kid. >> reporter: because after learning about the haunted holiday, it was love at first fright. >> my favorite is a house with a thousand corporations. >> reporter: and for the last 16 years, 365 days a year, he is carving craft pumpkins. >> i created the house of a thousand pumpkins. >> reporter: they come out of storage at the start of autumn he positions them perfectly on his lawn, and trust me, they're scary good. >> once they're all out, i'm still working on it. it will be close to 1400 >> reporter: for the last three years, typically 200 a year are added to his collection. >> a rot of my come pins are actually rock bands, because i'm really into rock music. >> reporter: he takes a week off of work wiring them and bolting

them into a base and then when the sunsets a the start of spooky season, ♪ the pumpkins come out to play, i have them on from 5:00 to 11:00 p.m. >> reporter: while it might not be a nightmare on elm street, it's a dream come true for tim, whose home is coincidentally on elm drive. >> a lot of times i'll be quiet and listen to them say good things it's nice to hear them say good things even when i'm not around. >> reporter: the house is irresistible and quite the sight to see. >> i get tons of great remarks everybody thanks me for doing it they say i'm the best thing in the neighborhood they look forward to it every year the kids go nuts they're screaming, running around. >> reporter: the display not only brightens the spirit of overs who see it, but it's helping families affected by cancer through a facebook fundraiser. >> my wife was diagnosed with a type of cancer two years ago she is doing okay, and hopefully the cancer is done. >> reporter: this dazzling

display will stay up until the big day. tim says he enjoys giving people pumpkin to talk about. >> on a typical night there will be traffic, constant traffic, you know it's great >> reporter: it's what you live for? >> it's what i live for, halloween. it's the best. ♪ >> reporter: showing you something good i'm sam reed >> that is probably one of the coolest displays that we've seen this holiday season when it comes to halloween, right? >> love at first fright. just like she said love it. >> and love the rock theme too thanks for watching "early today. i'm

hundreds killed in israel after devastating attacks by hamas. we've got the latest in the middle east and the history that led to this weekend's blood shed. back at home the u.s. pledges full support to israel, but americans divided in their support of the