president biden in prime time calls for support for both ukraine and israel, comparing vladimir putin to hamas. meanwhile, israeli troops amass at the gaza border as the ground

invasion looms live reports on the latest ahead. jim jordan changes his mind about giving up. the ohio congressman says he's back for more after failing to win the speakership in two votes. what the shift in strategy could mean russia detains another american journalist. she holds dual citizenship and was on a family visit. and the victims of a mass shooting will soon have a permanent nomemorial and we'll take you inside the touching moment when a dream finally came true for a young boy with cerebral palsy. "early today" starts right now >> good morning, i'm phillip mena >> i'm frances rivera. israel is poised to launch its ground invasion into the gaza strip any day now. yoav gallant has told troops

they will soon see gaza from the inside israel has been bombing gaza relentlessly more than 3,000 palestinians are dead, and a ground invasion promises to be even more deadly. >> let's go now to claudio lavanga who's been following these developments for us. what do we know at this hour >> reporter: good morning, phillip. the greatest indication we got that a ground invasion may be imminent is that visit by several senior israeli officials yesterday to the many troops that have been heining up alongside the station, alongside the border of the gaza strip for days the israeli foreign minister said they would seen it from inside and promising that an order would come another senior jenlgeneral tolde a ground invasion will be long, difficult and intense and in the end israel will beat hamas on its own territory and last but not least benjamin netanyahu

also rallied the troops by saying israel is on the 2003 victory. but for now, it looks like the calm before the storm or the storm before the hurricane since last saturday, the israeli military said they weren't going to hit gaza with a coordinated sea, land and air assault, but it has been pounding it with airstrikes, but they have line up tens of tanks alongside the border that have their guns pointed at gaza but their engines have been since off. why? many reasons the visit by president biden this week no ito israel. perhaps they're concerned that it would threaten the lives of the 200 hostages, but they also may be worried about the number of casualties they may suffer among israeli soldiers, because they will engage in an urban warfare in a territory that

hamas knows a lot better than them and also they may fight house to house and tunnel to tunnel and ambush israeli soldiers. there's also concern about the palestinians living there. more than 3,000 have died in the gaza strip mainly due to airstrikes, and analysts say in case of a ground invasion that death toll may just pale leading probably to a humanitarian crisis, an epic humanitarian crisis. phillip, frances >> think about all those people with m nowhere to go. the u.s. navy warship has shot down more than a dozen drones and three cruise missiles fired from yemen and possibly hiding toward israel the defense department said. the uss carney in the northern red sea made the intercept there were no casualties, but

the care jurier is on high aler. at least two drones tried to target the u.s. garrison in syria drones also targeted u.s. and coalition forces in iraq fresh off his trip to tel aviv, the president addressed the nation directly. president biden in a prime time oval office address made the case for providing more support to israel and ukraine, saying providing aid to these allies is in the best interest of national security here in the u.s alice barr joins us from washington, d.c. good morning why was the speech such a priority for the white house >> reporter: phillip, good morning. one big reason for this speech twoo was to try to put pressure on congress to act. the white house was to send a request for an emergency funding package worth about $100 billion. people familiar with the plan tell nbc news it had include

military and humanitarian support for ukraine and israel, as well as funding to help with the migrant crisis at the southern border. in his remarks last night, the president warned that taking no action would make americans less safe >> hamas and putin represent different threats. they share this in common. they both want to completely annihilate a neighboring democracy, completely annihilate it this just taught us that when dick te dictators don't pay a price, they cause more death and destruction. they keep going, and the cost and threats to america and the world keep rising. >> reporter: the president spent part of his speech urging compassion for people of all faiths as tensions escalate here in the ous u.s., he called on americans to denounce appoint semitism and

islamophobia while talking about the 6-year-old boy who was killed in a hate crime after the speech, the president and first lady spoke with the boy's father and uncle, offering condolences for that tragic crime. >> so hard to think about it, thank you. laphonza butler will only spend a little over a year in the senate she said in a statement thursday that she won't seek a full term in office in 2024. butler, who was appointed by governor newsom to finish the term of the late dianne feinstein says she reached this decision after spending time in the chamber reflecting on the life she wants to have the house will likely end her to week in disarray, while the chamber is expected to hold a third vote on jim jordan for speaker, he hit a dead end on thursday with no alternative in

sight. alice barr has more. >> reporter: a shift in strategy to kick the house of representatives back into action after more than two weeks without a speaker appeared to hit another wall the current nominee, judiciary committee chairman jim jordan initially back add plan to temporarily empower the interim speaker patrick mchenry, al how long the house to pass critical legislation while republicans work to get on the same page but after a lengthy closed-door huddle, jordan said there was too much opposition. >> we made the pitch to members on the resolution as a way to lower the temperature. and get back to work had we decided that wasn't where we were going to go. >> reporter: other republicans say the plan to empower mchenry isn't dead, but republicans can't come together.

>> i think there are a number of options, and they're going to hammer those out the people keep leaving. i don't think there's enough people there to make that decision >> reporter: moderates in both party also expressed support >> so we can start moving appropriations, deal with the crisis in ukraine and our border >> it's a manational security issue. >> reporter: chairman jordan not backing down >> i'm still running for speaker, and i plan to go to the floor and get the votes and win this race. >> reporter: a deeply-divided house striving for a solution to get back to the work of the american people. in washington, alice barksr, nbc news the u.s. soldier who bolted into north korea has been charged by the military. he is facing eight counts. they include desertion, but also involve possession of child pornography and assaulting

fellow soldiers. he ran across the dmz in july. it's unclear what his treatment was like there an attorney for king has asked that people be fair minded and withhold judgment. more rain is on the way for the east coast this weekend. nbc meteorologist angie lassman has a look at when those storms might move on. >> finally made it to friday and the good news is, the bright side of this forecast is folks in the midwest are finally going to get a break from this rain. that does of course mean that the rain is in the picture for folks in the northeast as we get into the day today, your saturday, even your sunday could have lingering showers in the forecast for folks in the northern portions of new england. here's spot that we're going to look for the potential for really, you know, multiple rounds of heavy rain some impressive rainfall rates potentially, especially across portions of maine and of course with that comes the possibility of flooding. so we'll watch for that. this is tomorrow, parts of new england, this is the heads up

that you want if you are going to be out and about at all you could run into some of thoughethos flooded roadways one to two inches is likely. we could see a couple of spots with higher amounts than that. and the heat is on feeling like summer really for the whole western half of the country. 80s in omaha las vegas, 92 degrees, not much different as we head into tomorrow we could potentially see records in these regions over the next couple days. dallas, 92 degrees, and phoeniu dealing with rain. new york, showers are in the forecast mid-60s for the high there chicago ends up at 61 degrees with partly cloudy skies and that's a look at your friday

forecast, guys, back over to you. >> coming up after the break we will hear from the survivors of the pulse massacre and their families families >>tra. unlike some others, it supports 7 brain health indicators, including mental alertness from one serving. to help keep me sharp. try new neuriva ultra. think bigger. i'm adding downy unstopables to my wash now. i'll be smelling fresh all day long. [sniffs] still fresh. still fresh! get 6 times longer-lasting freshness, plus odor protection with downy unstopables. we used to struggle with greasy messes. now, we just freak, wipe, and we're done! with mr. clean clean freak, conquering messes is that easy. clean freak's mist is three times more powerful, and it works on contact. clean freak, just freak, wipe, done. hey guys, check it out: it's mrs. stevens. they say she can make things appear out of thin air.

hey! you guys want to come in? my mom made dinner. make your table legendary, with country crock. the city of orlando has struck a deal to buy the pulse nate nightclub property it was purchased for $2 million with the intention of building a permanent memorial for the victims. it's a major step toward healing seven years on as our orlando affiliate reports. >> i would never let him just become a name that floats away >> reporter: that's why lolly santiago sanleon fought for the city to purchase the property where her family member was killed >> they are the roots to help our, to help what's going on

>> reporter: this is where they lost their lives seven years ago. the site was supposed to be acquired by the one pulse foundation, a group that was formed with plans to build a memorial in honor of the victims. after the deal failed this year some family members and survivors went to the city and county so that the memorial wouldn't go up somewhere else. on wednesday, the owners had agreed to sell pulse to the city of orlando for $2 million. >> i cannot explain to you how much this means, and i know that these are, this is step one. and there's many to overcome >> reporter: in a statement, the pulse owners said in part the site will serve at permanent national memorial. our hope is that this sacred ground will become a space for healing. >> the city wants to buy, now, well, it makes you think, what's under their sleeve what is the next step? >> reporter: brenda is the

cousin of a pulse victim who died and two who survived. the costs behind the deal worries her. >> do you know how many survivors are still in need of surgery? >> reporter: she plans to go to a future doctor visit with joshua hernandez in puerto rico. he is a survivor >> i have a bullet inside of me. i have to go to emergency room to check me, because at the moment i don't have no insurance. >> reporter: he wonders why the pulse deal took seven years long >> now the question is, now, what's going to happen with one pulse foundation they need to close one pulse foundation that's it. >> our thanks for that report. still to come, international tensions lead to the cancellation of a popular awards show and love angels, walk faof me baby. hollywood's latest honoree after the break.

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this is ridiculous neff, never in my wildest dreamsdy ever think that this girl right here from orange county would have a star on the hollywood walk of fame that just doesn't make sense to me >> took a while to get her here, and she's going to take her time, but she has blown all our minds, from her solo record to the world of fashion, gwen stefani has pretty much done it all. now she has the star on the walk of fame to prove it. she was award add star on the hollywood walk of fame on thursday, and she can currently be seen as a coach on nbc's "the voice" anybody not of a certain age, it's hard to just describe how highly influential she is. a female performer at a time that it was very dominated by men. >> i met her fashion label i need to get my hands on those

shoes. she's killing it with the fashion. look at this, it's so perfect when if comes to her star on the hollywood walk of fame that she's dressed like that. >> she always has that style every music video was pretty cool >> and those red lips. looking ahead, there may be more trouble brewing for a cinematic juggernaut the marvels, the latest film is tracking for a november debut in the $70 million to $80 million range. that's well below the first weekend haul of captain marvel which opened to over 150 million. it comes at the end of a year of under underwhelming performances, the marvels opens november 10th. i have to say i'm not totally into the super hero world, but, you know, i'm pretty familiar. it seems like there's an

overload, overly saturated with so many. >> it feels like the super hero movies get confusing after a while, if you're not fully immerse in the marvel universe, you know and you always wonder how they know they kind of know it's not really going to do as great as they wanted it tomorrow. >> when we come back we have stories you may have mse including why greta thunberg found herself in custody headache? better now. new mucinex kickstart gives all-in-one and done relief with a morning jolt of instant cooling sensation. it's comeback season. a mystery! jessie loves playing detective. but the real mystery was her irritated skin. so, we switched to tide pods free & gentle. it cleans better, and doesn't leave behind irritating residues. and it's gentle on her skin. tide free & gentle is epa safer choice certified. it's got to be tide. did you guys remember career day last year? lane hartzel came as a hershey's taste tester. well i told hershey about that.

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meeting. the miami sea aquarium shared details about the death of lolita the orca activists fought for years to have her freed and check out this early winter wonderland. north carolina goti its first snow of e asthseon up in the highest elevations check it out: it's mrs. stevens. they say she can make things appear out of thin air. hey! you guys want to come in? my mom made dinner. make your table legendary, with country crock. hi. i use febreze fade defy plug. and i use this. febreze has a microchip to control scent release so it smells first-day fresh for 50 days. 50 days!? and its refill reminder light means i'll never miss a day of freshness. ♪ the long-lasting scent of gain flings made it smell like dave was in his happy place... ...the massage chair at the mall.

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came true. >> ready let's go >> reporter: that child is an inspiration to me every day. >> is he ishows up to avenue practice and game. it means a lot >> but if you pass it. >> makes me feel super happy that he gets to do the stuff i love >> yeah, it's going to hurt a little bit not used to wearing a helmet >> reed ready for the zeke special >> he is the exam prime minister of of

example of what determination is >> ready, one, two, three, zeke! >> he doesn't ever really seem to be upset that he has limitations or things that hold him back he's still a blessing. i wouldn't change anything about him. >> mommy was super proud of you. and so is your whole team. >> it gives you a different perspective on your own life there's no reason for any of us to sit around and not count our blessings, honestly. >> our thanks to logan brown for bringing us that beautiful story. how could you not root for zeke. that was amazing >> invaluable less sons, it's not what you can't do. it's what can you do still ahead this morning, a special hour dedicated to the topic parents and kids wrestle with, screen time, how much of it >> coming up, a special event all parents immediate to see >> we are dedicate ago entire

h hou hour >> we're going to shed light on the latest research. and what's now being discovered about the potential for screen addiction. >> instead of constantly battling with your children, we're going to help you develop a plan that can work for your whole family >> kids in crisis this morning only on "today " . looking forward to th>>at

israel tells troops to be ready for gaza ground war. the eyes of the world watching for the invasion that could happen at any moment as tension and the humanitarian crisis in