more news now is on the way.

statistic blinken is in israel talking about steps to avoid a wider conflict. >> we have sent the gerald r. ford to the region. we've taken other steps to make it clear to anyone. >> we are live with the escalating tensions and violence in israel's war with hamas nearly a week after that brutal terror attack. more disorder in the house. congressman steve scalise pulls out of the speakers race, sparking renewed chaos in the republican party, why he no longer wants the gavel. an oklahoma judge now the one facing judgment. what's next after he was caught sending text messages during a murder trial. social security rae ecipien

your paycheck is about to get bigger. the basic building blocks of life brought back from the reaches of space. it's friday, october 13. "early today" starts right now. good morning, i'm phillip mena. >> i'm frances rivera. the war between israel and the gaza strip is stintensifying. the israeli response has already cost more than 1500 lives on the gaza strip. we go live to claudio lavanga. what's the latest on day six of this war? >> reporter: good morning, frances. as you mentioned, the death toll among palestinians has reached is 1500, but the fear is that number will rise dramatically as

they continue to bomb very densely populated areas in gaza and because a ground assault may be launched soon. and one indication that that will happen is last night israel told the united nations that 1.1 million should evacuate within 24 hours. that means the only way out will be toward egypt. for most of them, that means more than 2 million people will be huddling, sitting ducks in a relatively small area in the south of the enclave. no wonder that the united nations is saying such a movement, is bound to have devastating humanitarian consequences. >> hamas holds more than 100 hostages, how can they be safe?

>> reporter: that's the critical answer rate now. con if there is a ground invasion and hamas does not join the rest of the 1.1 million palestinians moving south by that evacuation order and each day keep the hostages in the north of the country, the hostages will be expose to the crossfire in case of a ground invasion to airstrikes and even worse, they may be used as human shields. yesterday, lester holt as you mentioned, i spoke to u.s. secretary of state blinken and asked what the ousu.s. is doing toward the release of the hostages. he sympathizes with the families and is doing everything he can to bring them safely back home. but whether that means the zus

asking israel not to do anything rash like a ground invasion, that remains to be seen, frances. >> these latest developments showing that this ground invasion may be the kloclosest far. >> as you mentioned, a ground invasion of the gaza strip now seems inevitable, as israel amasses massive forces at the border. richard engel covers gaza for us. >> reporter: there's an air war in gaza, with hamas firing barrages of rockets toward israel to little effect. israel's iron dome missile defense system launching tiny projectiles at super sonic speed, intercepting and destroying nearly all of them. israel's airstrikes are the no be not being stopped. they are slamming into gaza. the united nations is sounding

the alarm of a growing humanitarian crisis. human rights groups are calling for civilians to be allowed to leave and aid to enter the 139 square mile territory home to 2 million palestinians. 40% of them under 15. shae israel says it will keep attacking gaza until hamas is destroyed. the military says it only targets hamas, but what about the children? more than 1500 palestinians have been killed and 6,000 wounded. and those numbers could grow quickly. israel's military is amassing tanks and troops along the border with gaza. [speaking in a global language] its chief of staff saying now it is time for war and that the head of hamas and all those who operate under him deserve to die. 22-year-old felicia lives in gaza. >> it is barely covering any news. there is no electricity, there is no connection.

like israelis are literally bombing everywhere, nowhere to stay. life in gaza, they don't make any sense to any gazan living here, because we don't know what the word life mean. we expecting death at any minute, we're expecting the whole gaza strip will be erased at any minute. >> reporter: the gaza strip is bordered by israel, the mediterranean sea and egypt. all eckxits are closed and blocked. this isn't ukraine, no one is taking in the people of gaza. >> we couldn't handle this amount of injuries u, and it ju heartbreaking. >> reporter: dr. sara is a surgeon based in gaza. she posts to social media to show conditions there. >> no one can leave gaza. no one can enter gaza. there is no crossing borders, nothing left for anyone to do.

it's a huge, big cage that we are, that we are trapped inside. and someone from outside is just keep on bombing. non-stop bombing, and hear is nowthere is nowhere else to go. >> reporter: after more than 1500 gunman stormed into israel, butchered entear families, desecrated their bodies, killed at least 1300 jews and took hostages including children and the elderly. israel's reprisal is under way. it is massive, intensifying and could trigger a regional war. >> we want to thank richard engel for that update. there was a bipartisan show of support for israel at the capitol steps. the chaplain led the group in a moment of prayer and silence for the lives lost in israel.

republicans are back to square one in their quest for a new house speaker. overnight, steve scalise of louisiana with dru frdrew from race. it had become clear that scalise could not reach the 217 vote threshold to get the fgavel. >> there's some folks that really need to look in the mirror over the next couple days and decide, are we going to get it back on sflak track? >> republicans are expected to meet again starting at 10:00 a.m. jim jordan says they will discuss possible rule changes and try to pick a new candidate. he refused to say if he would run again for the job. it is unclear if he could gather the 217 votes needed either. the trial of a man surrounding the death of a

colorado black man began and the officer was charged over two years after the incident. the jury acquitted rosenblatt. mcclain suffered cardiac arrest after he was detained by officers, placed in a chokehold and given ketamine. sentencing for rode roedema is scheduled for january. recipients of social security are set to receive an indri increase next year. you want to keep your umbrellas handy this weekend. angie lassman is here tracking the storm that seems to be going cross country. >> you're right. umbrellas are going to be needed across parts of the plains

today. and as we get into tomorrow, that shift to the northeast. here's what it hacks llooks lik here. you can see some of that snow still falling across parts of the rockies. heavy rain in parts of the upper midwest. this is the story through the day today. heavy rain potentially leading to localized flooding. we'll see gusty winds remain across parts of the plains. we're talking 20, 30, 40 mile-per-hour winds in some spots. another rainy saturday for most of the northeast. we'll see some of these thunderstorms, maybe potentially stronger ones across the carolinas. but this will start to move out, and we'll be left over with lingering showers especially for the second half of our sunday. it looks a little better across this region. we do have the flooding concern today. chicago, milwaukee, dabuubuque. as we pick up another inch to

pennsylvania and the northeast. 57 degrees in chicago. plenty of susnshine across the east coast and temperatures in the upper 70s in charleston. and that is a hook at the for look at the forecast. up next, who is judging who? >> the judge under fire for ndg text messages in the middle of a murder trial. we're back in 60 seconds. knocks out your worst allergy symptoms including nasal congestion. without knocking you out. feel the clarity and make today the most wonderful time of the year. claritin-d. are you tired of clean clothes that just don't smell clean? wonderful time of the year. downy unstopables in-wash scent boosters keep your laundry smelling fresh waaaay longer

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oklahoma city, here's caitlyn ogle with more. >> reporter: oklahoma supreme court justice john cain says he wants tracy soderstrom taken off the bench, texting tourduring a trial. texting that prosecutors just couldn't accept that a mom could kill their kid, so they went after the next person available and add,ki p can i please screa "liar, liar?" why does i havhe have baby hand. they accused a witness of not having teeth, being constip pated and a juror of wearing a wig. soderstrom texting a bailiff, i could look at him all day, and askingki asking, can i clap for her.

but never giving the jurors an opportunity to consider second degree murder. they handed down a manslaughter conviction and recommended he be released with time served. after the trial a video was leaked. she had cameras moved away and then put back and asked brlack pri privacy spots over her defkts. we called judge soderstrom's attorney several times and nefrp heard back. we called the bailiff. she hung up. we called again, twice. >> and our thanks to caitlyn ogle for that story -- coming up, how a dad in arizona l code policy. >> and we have one town's very own barbie land. day of advanced hair complex.

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we're back with a breakdown of the latest news in culture and trends. if you want to step into barbie land you won't need rollerblades or convertible, but you will need to head to utah. outside salt lake city look what they d h they did. homeowners collaborated for a barbie theme. there's a ken-approved casa house, complete with a horse and other western flair. this neighborhood, as you can see, went all out. there are 12 separate homes. the kids are loving it. for all of them to get together and decide they're doing this full on is so impressive. they executed perfectly. >> people are going to be traffic around the block to check this out. it is so well done. >> i think they should keep it up and throw christmas

decorations on, pink lights and they're set for christmas. >> that's a neighborhood attraction to are sure. at a school district in arizona, they're in a hot debate over changes over the school's dress code, so they would allow tank tops and students to show midriffs. while some parents were on board, others spoke out. one father of four who has four children in that district did it a very different way. he stripped-down into a crop top and shorts with his midriff showing. he told our affiliate in phoenix that the rules do not promote a safe classroom environment. the board did vote 3-2 to approve the dress code change despite his concerns. so not only does he not get his way. i hope his kids don't get any flak over his dad showing up like that, you know. >> would you go as far as that? >> no, not at all. i know what's going to happen. kids are brutal in high school. what if someone's parents dressed like that?

they would get a little grief. >> he doesall this, he's got this angry straight face. wow. that is dad. on saturday, parts of the americas are in for a celestial show. an annual solar eclipse, best known as a ring of fire will be visible for parts of the western u.s. to brazil. it will begin in oregon about 8:00 a.m. the other parts of the u.s., canada, most of central and south america will get a glimpse of the eclipse. just don't forget proper eyewear. it's needed too, even for your cameras. >> it's quite a phenomenon, though. beavers made their come back in one maj cority. >> weigh are rae winding your week to the news you may have miss after this. listen up. check the mail for your renewal form... ♪ week to the news you may have miss after this. h are rae windik to the news you may have miss after this. are rae winding you to the news you may have miss after this. are rae winding your to the news you may have miss

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proposal to ban hidden fees in purchases. he says americans spend $80 billion a year in these charges. beavers are back in london's ecosystem. the animals could help improve conditions for wildfirlife and fish. chicago sky named a new coach. and these mushrooms sold at auction in japan for $6200. the ball is out and there's a pile-up. -let's go! -get in the pile! ugh, i'll deal with this tomorrow. you won't. it's ripe in here. my eyes are watering. i'm a busy man. look how crusty this is. shameful. ugh, it's just too much. not with this.

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samples from a asteroid could give as you better look into how the solar system was formed. >> reporter: take a look at a time capsule from an ancient solar system. the rock and dust on the edge of that canister are from an asteroid a billion miles away. and here's where it gets really cool. inside the rocks and dust researchers have already detected traces of carbon and water. the building blocks of life. >> weigh are trying to find outo we are, what we are. >> reporter: and asteroids provide the basic ingredients of earth 4 billion years ago. the capsule returned to earth two weeks ago after a mission that had the spacecraft landing on that asteroid and drilling down to collect a sample, leaving behind a contrail of

dust an and debris. jackpot. >> we picked the right asteroid. and not only that, we brought back the right sample. >> reporter: here's why. look here. these are closeups from an electron microscope which has water locked inside. water in an asteroid. >> that is how we think water got to our earth. >> reporter: once nasa opens the nearly 9-ounce sample it plans to share it with researchers around the world and save some for future scientists who have not yet been born but may wonder. >> why are we here. >> reporter: if asteroids actually did kick start the earth, and if there are

trillions of planets out there, what are the chances it happened to some of them, too. and if that's true? >> e.t. phone home? >> e.t. phone home. >> reporter: maybe there's a whole universe of e.t.s out there. >> that's fascinating. our thanks to tom for that report. it's like ancestry.com or 23&me for humanity. >> way outside of our world. there may be a whole alternate universe out there, alternate planet with another phillip mena and frances rivera. >> this one will have to suffice. we're all maid of star

right now at 5:00, breaking news, israel orders an entire segment of gaza to evacuate, b