israel ramps up air strikes against hamas, raising fears of a broader war as the humanitarian aid finally crosses the border, we're learning more about the americans released by hamas. we have a live report with the latest

capitol hill chaos nine candidates now in the rac to lead the house majority but can my any of them bring republicans together a live report from washington, next a popular radio host says he was scammed out of thousands of dollars by his business partner. dj n.b. says he was one of the investors. but his partners say he was part of the problem giving a hefty donation to his alma mater. and ghosts that haunt this new england home why these decorations would make an entrepreneur shuder it's monday, october 23. "early today" starts right now thanks for starting the week with us. i'm frances rivera >> and i'm phillip mena. western leaders are urging israel to adhere to international humanitarian law and its war on gaza. issuing a joint statement, leaders of canada, france,

germany, the uk and the u.s. stress that civilians need to be protected. since hamas's attack on israel two weeks ago, more than 4.5,000 people have been killed in gaza, most by israeli airstrikes. >> for the latest let's go to clad owe lavanga good morning this likely to influence israeli policy at all? >> frances, phillip, form. that statesman seems to be carefully drafted by the leaders of the country to show they still support israel's right to defend itself and to retaliate against hamas, but at the same time they're calling on israel to respect on international law, especially when it comes to protecting civilians this is different than the same statement the leaders issued two weeks ago after hamas' attack where they offered the steadfast and united support to israel to condemn hamas, but they did not mention the need to protect civilians. what has changed since then? more than 4,000 people have been killed in the gaza strip since

then for the last couple of weeks, mainly killed by israeli air strikes, including hundreds of children. a relentless bombing and death toll, impressive death toll has that triggered widespread demonstrations against israel in many parts of the world, including in the countries that are -- of that statement of that statement issued last night. it doesn't look like the statement has any effect on the campaign so far when it came out so far, but overnight israel has continued to pound gaza relentlessly with air strikes. what seems to be work, the less to delay the ground offensive it seems is the visits by heads of states to israel, just as it happens with president biden last week. now nbc news learned the leaders of france and the netherlands are visiting israel this week. so possibly, potentially, the ground offensive will be postponed once again until they leave. in the statement, the leaders also welcomed the release of two

hostages or called for the release of all the other hodges, while the two american israeli hostages have been reunited with their families, but not before potentially security services in israel questioned them, trying to get as much information as they could through potentially locate the other hostages who are still being held in gaza phillip, frances >> there are dozens of other families hoping for that same kind of reunion. claudio, thank you police in detroit are searching for a suspect after the leader of a center city synagogue was found brutally murdered in her home while no racist motive has been uncovered, communities across the u.s. are on edge as the war rages in the middle east our jesse kirsch is in detroit ♪ >> reporter: detroit blind sided by heartbreak. >> we love you so much

>> reporter: at a funeral, family and friends said goodbye to samantha woll, a jewish synagogue board president who detroit police say was found early saturday repeatedly stabbed and killed >> she believes in humanity, which of course is a terrible irony for today. >> reporter: michigan's attorney general, who knew waoll calling her death a brutal murder, investigators discovering a trail of blood leading to the 40-year-old's home where they believe she was killed. >> our community has lost just a tremendous, tremendous human being. >> reporter: woll's friend sarah said she made everyone feel special. show was actively trying to bridge divides. >> yes. >> reporter: between different faith groups. >> yes. >> reporter: woll's death comes as federal authorities are concerned about attacks on jewish americans, arab americans, and muslim americans because of the israel-hamas war. detroit investigators have not announced a motive here, but the city's police chief making a

point of saying so far no evidence has surfaced, suggesting that this crime was motived by anti-semitism news of the stabbing comes on a tense weekend. in new york city, so pro palestinian demonstration clashes with police. earlier this month in a new york city subway station, police say a woman was punched in the face. the suspect allegedly telling her "it was because you are jewish." and in illinois, a 6-year-old palestinian american boy was stabbed to death, allegedly targeted because of his muslim faith and the war overseas divisive times making woll's deathan all the more heartbreaking loss >> sam so vehemently believed in this jewish value of repairing the world. >> reporter: multiple law enforcement officials briefed on the investigation tell nbc news there were no signs of forced entry or defensive wounds. sources also say that investigators found a large

israeli flag that appeared to be untouched. back to you. >> all right, jesse, thank you let's turn now to capitol hill where the search continues for a house speaker. republicans are back to square one again after their latest nominee, jim jordan of ohio, tried and failed to get the votes needed to win the gavel. nbc's brie jackson joins us from d.c. good morning have we seen a new front-runner now that jim jordan is out >> good morning, frances not only is there no clear front-runner for this position, but republicans now have 19 new candidates to consider nine house republicans officially launched a bid for the speakership by the deadline of noon yesterday. the candidates include jack bergman, who is a retired marine lieutenant, byron donalds of florida, who has been a big supporter of donald trump, majority whip tom emmer of minnesota, he has the endorsement of former speaker kevin mccarthy >> this is embarrassing for the republican party

it's embarrassing for the nation, and we need the look at one another and solve the problem. >> if emmer cannot get the votes, would you rule out running for speaker again to get your old job back? >> look, i don't need the title. i'm going help in any way i can. >> the house has been without a speaker since mccarthy was voted out of the job on october 3rd. this new crop of candidates has stepped forward after steve scalise and then jim jordan were unable to get 217 votes to win the gavel. tonight, the nine new candidates will make their case to the water in a closed door forum then on tuesday morning, the republicans will hold another internal vote to choose their next nominee now whoever that lawmaker turns out to be, they will then face that uphill battle of trying to win 217 votes in the full house. frances? >> brie jackson for us, brie, thank you. the rivalries are also

heating up between republicans running for president. a super pac backing ron desantis just hit nikki haley with an ad targeting her record with china. >> as governor, haley rolled out the red carpet for chinese companies. >> they want to do business in south carolina our home, your home. >> as governor of south carolina, nikki haley did praise the chinese company for creating jobs in her state. a spokesperson for haley condemned the ad as lies and hypocrisy from desantis, who also recruited chinese companies to florida the middle of the country is in for a warm week but the ohio valley is in for cold morning with freeze alerts popping up nbc meteorologist michelle grossman is tracking those trends good morning, michelle. >> good morning to you both. it is a chilly start we're looking at 20s and 30s parts of the appalachians as well the interior parts of the northeast, 28 million americans waking up to these alerts. we have freeze warnings. that is in the hot pink. frost advisories louisville down

to asheville just above freezing in pittsburgh, only 35 degrees. lots of 30s. detroit, columbus, and we have some 40s chicago just 47 degrees. it's 44 in bowling green as we go throughout the afternoon, though. we're going to be really warm in the middle of the country. we have a big area of high pressure that's bringing in some warmth and even tropical moisture too in parts of the southern plains. 80 degrees in dallas that's 4 degrees what is typical. wichita 90 degrees 21 degrees above average and warm into memphis. 84, 85 in new orleans. temperatures well above normal temperatures into the upper 70s. 80s in spots st. louis you're going to be 16 degrees above what is typical. warm into the northeast and midatlantic as well. that's going to stay in place throughout the rest of the week. new york city 75 on wednesday. warm in portions in of the

middle 87 in corpus christi all right. that was your monday forecast. >> all right, michelle, thank you. after swimming from cuba to key west, diana nyad celebrated the anniversary of their nearly 111 swim by help regular lease a rehabilitated sea turtle back into the ocean rocky, the 120-pound sea turtle was rescued by the florida fish and wildlife in january. after surgery and months of recovery, she finally made her return to sea at smathers beach. the latest on the djm.b. drama. >> the breaks post saying he had nothing to do with the fraud scheme that fleeced investors out of millions. say she can mas appear out of thin air. hey!

you guys want to come in? my mom made dinner. make your table legendary, with country crock. oh, hello! hi! do you know that every load of laundry could be worth as much as $300? really? and your clothes just keep getting more damaged the more times you wash them. downy protects fibers, doing more than detergent alone. see? this one looks brand new. saves me money? i'm starting to like downy. downy saves loads. my skin has been so much smoother so much more hydrated. it's olay! with olay hyaluronic body wash 95% of women had visibly-better skin. and my skin is so much more moisturized. see the difference with olay. ma, ma, ma— ( clears throat ) for fast sore throat relief, try vicks vapocool drops. with two times more menthol per drop, and powerful vicks vapors to vaporize sore throat pain. vicks vapocool drops. vaporize sore throat pain.

popular radio host dj mb says he is the victim of a scam. now one of his long-time partners is accused of defrauding millions of dollars from investors valerie gosk reports, it's dj envy. >> reporter: dj envy now distancing himself from an alleged multimillion-dollar scam federal agents arresting his long-time friend and one-time business partner caesar pina in p.j. accusing him of a ponzi-like real estate scheme that allegedly defrauded investors out of millions. pinna has pleaded not guilty and has not responded to an nbc news request for comment. >> i started with no money, and here i am $50 million in real estate. >> reporter: pinna often appeared on the breakfast club with millions of listeners and youtube subscribers to promote real estate investment he also held senaminars.

>> if all these apartments are rented out, how much profit monthly do you bring in? >> gross we're talking about 50 k. >> reporter: but federal prosecutors say pinna exploited celebrity status and social media to develop a following of victims and promising returns that were too good to be true. >> we're giving away a house. >> reporter: new york's investigative team speaking with some of the alleged victims. >> $835,000, in total. >> i lost a total of $64,000. >> i lost a million dollars. >> reporter: according to the criminal complaint, pinna convinced investors to go in on properties that needed to be flipped and rehabbed, promising returns as high as 35% but many of the people filing dozens of lawsuits saying he never followed through. >> it's unfair we're trying to chase the american dream, just working and provide the best for our family. and that dream has been crushed. >> reporter: dj envy, whose real

name is rashawn casey denying any hand in the alleged scheme. >> i do understand how people feel if they did give him money, because i gave him a lot of money. >> jesus >> that i didn't see a dollar of return but for anybody to say i was involved, that's totally not true i would never. >> reporter: casey has not been charged in connection with the case, but many of the alleged victims say they were influenced by his celebrity status. >> dj envy absolutely is equally to blame he is on a major platform which is not only in new york, but across theates >> reporter: his lawyer saying casey is a victim himself, investing $500,000 that were never repaid and now combatting lawsuits accusing him of the fraud. >> not only is he a victim of the underlying alleged fraud, purposed by mr. pina, but he added to that, he is also being victimized by having to pay out monies for defense costs on legal fees to combat against

improperly filed lawsuits. >> our thanks to valerie for that report. still to come, tae taye continues to dominate the box office > and howard university just received a big donation from a legendary bad boy. uh, go spicy or go home, right? what? no. what if i'm not sure i have the right coverage for my car? oh, your agent can help you make sure it's just what you need. what if i accidentally hit a food truck and it gets covered in empanadas? you can file a claim on the app. at state farm, we're there for your “what ifs.” thanks! - oh! - mmmm... that is too spicy. that's for you! like a good neighbor, state farm is there.® call or click to get a quote today. sometimes jonah wrestles with falling asleep... ...so he takes zzzquil. the world's #1 sleep aid brand for a better night sleep. so now, he wakes up feeling like himself. the reigning family room middle-weight champion. better days start with zzzquil nights. listen, your deodorant just has to work.

i use secret aluminum free. just swipe and it lasts all day. secret helps eliminate odor, instead of just masking it. and hours later, i still smell fresh. secret works! ohhh yesss. ♪♪ you know that feeling of having to rewash dishes that didn't get clean? i don't. cascade platinum plus... with double the dawn grease fighting power and double the scrubbing power. for a no rewash clean... and a cabinet ready shine. upgrade to cascade platinum plus. dare to dish differently. it ain't my dad's razor, dad. ay watch it! it's from gillettelabs. this green bar releases trapped hairs from my face... gamechanga! ...while the flexdisc contours to it. so the five blades can get virtually every hair in one stroke. for the ultimate gillette shaving experience. the best a man can get is gillettelabs. honey... honey... nyquil severe honey. powerful cold and flu relief with a dreamy honey taste. nyquil honey, the nighttime, sniffing, sneezing, couging, aching, fever, honey-licious, best sleep with a cold, medicine. 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.

taylor swift's concert film continues to break box office records, going on its second week of elease, the eras tour film made 31 million over the weekend, bringing its total to $129.8 million to the domestic box office the film is the first independently released project in over a decade to cross 100 million at the box office. so you got a little taste of what this is all about and the madness all around this movie. >> yeah, i dropped my stepdaughter off at a movie party. they rented out the theater and they're all watching it was crazy to see the little

girls dressed up in the front row. they were going wild, like as if they were at a concert some had seen it multiple times. and there was another showing packed with other kids not part. >> now you get what's happening. >> i get why they're raking in the bucks. wow. sean diddy combs returned to his alma mater, howard university, and he had a hefty donation for the school. as promised at the 2022 b.e.t. awards, combs pledged to donate a million dollars to the historically black university, an he did so this past weekend this marks the second time the music mogul has made a donation to howard after donating a million back in 2016 and creating the sean combs scholarship fund so i mean, it's fantastic to see somebody be able to give back multiple times to someone he knew made a big difference in israel will life. >> the lives that have been changed. dwayne "the rock" johnson's wax figure was recently unveiled the statue of the jumanji star

was the latest edition in paris. many fans noticed the figure's lighter skin tone and even compare the replica to mr. clean and his fast and furious co-star vin diesel the rock responded on instagram and said the team plans to update his wax figure with some important details and improvements at first maybe it's the rock but you can kind of see some vin dees until that. i always wonder, before they launch it, why don't they assess it and just ask, get a focus group or something. >> well, yeah, i guess so. that does look like mr. clean, though, i got to say coming up re ohen "early today," how a popular diet could have a positive impact on your mental health. stay with us this is a hot flash. but this is a not flash. ♪ i got a good feeling ♪ there's big news for women going through menopause. veozah - a prescription treatment for moderate to severe vasomotor symptoms - the medical name for hot flashes and night sweats. with hormone-free veozah, you can have fewer hot flashes,

and more not flashes. veozah is proven to reduce the number and severity of hot flashes, day and night. for some women, it can start working in as early as one week. don't use veozah if you have cirrhosis, severe kidney problems, kidney failure, or take cyp1a2 inhibitors. increased liver blood test values may occur. your doctor will check them before and during treatment. most common side effects include stomach pain, diarrhea, difficulty sleeping, back pain, and hot flashes. ♪ i got a good feeling ♪ ask your doctor about hormone-free veozah and enjoy more not flashes. still living with odors? get back in there and freshen instantly with febreze air mist. febreze's fine mist floats longer in the air to fight even your toughest odors. so long stinky smells and hello amazing freshness. febreze air mist. ( ♪ ♪ ) looks like it's grime time huh? dr. garcia? crest reality checkup.

that grimy film on your teeth? it's actually the buildup of plaque bacteria which can cause cavities in months. and your toothpaste just isn't cutting it. most toothpastes quit working in minutes. but the antibacterial fluoride in crest pro-health protects for up to 12 hours. so i can stop cavities before they start? mmm-hmm. can i get a latte? the #1 toothpaste brand in america. crest. oh... stuffed up again? so congested! you need sinex saline from vicks. just sinex, breathe, ahhhh! what is — wow! sinex. breathe. ahhhhhh! so i didn't think i needed swiffer, until, i saw how easily it picked up my hair every time i dried it! only takes a minute. look at that! the heavy duty cloths are extra thick, for amazing trap & lock. even for his hair. wow. and for dust, i love my heavy duty duster. the fluffy fibers trap dust on contact, up high and all around

without having to lift a thing. i'm so hooked. you'll love swiffer. or your money back! do you struggle with occasional nerve aches in your hands or feet? 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. 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. a popular diet's impact on mental health and the dangers of warm ocean waters. here's what you need to know "early today." kohl's is revamping its stores in an effort to recover from a sales slump. there will be more home decor, pet merchandise and impulse buy displays throughout the store.

according to new research published in the journal nature mental health, eating a mediterranean diet could reduce or prevent symptoms of pasadena. the studies are from two studies involving thousands of female participants high water temperatures in the caribbean sea is causes a large amount of coral bleaching. some scientists the worst ever recorded in that region. we'll be right back. they say s appear out of thin air. hey! you guys want to come in? my mom made dinner. make your table legendary, with country crock. ♪ 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. theo's nose was cause for alarm, so dad brought puffs plus lotion to save it from harm. puffs has 50% more lotion and brings soothing relief. don't get burned by winter nose.

a nose in need deserves puffs indeed. america's #1 lotion tissue. oh, hello! hi! do you know that every load of laundry could be worth as much as $300? really? and your clothes just keep getting more damaged the more times you wash them. downy protects fibers, doing more than detergent alone. see? this one looks brand new. saves me money? i'm starting to like downy. downy saves loads. a long island man put a unique twist giving a nod to businesses that were once bombing and have since shut their doors. sam reed from our rhode island affiliate is giving us a look at the retail graveyard.

>> reporter: joshua has a place for those businesses that have passed on. >> i remember going to every one of these places. >> reporter: outside of his dean avenue home, it's evident the life-long rhode islander not only as what love for halloween, but a love for land marks that are no longer with us. >> growing u, i always went to sears for my tools and stuff that one always kind of was a good one but benny's was my favorite. >> reporter: so like any good groundskeeper, he went to work perfecting each piece, using recycled roofing insulation and a hot knife to create gravestones for dead businesses gone but not forgotten. >> i thought it was a creative way to remember these stores that we group and places that we grew up with. >> reporter: equipped with their death date and logos. >> supposed to be coming back. >> reporter: this business burial display is put out on october 1. >> it's a good way to put them out every year and remind people. >> reporter: joshua says this is his way to pay halloween homage

at home in the ocean state. >> we lost so many landmarks, i figured it was good thing to run with. >> reporter: ever since news spread of his efforts, the cemetery has grown over the last three years. >> every time i post, someone will give me another idea. oh, i got to make that one now >> reporter: while it's unfortunate they didn't live to serve the public any longer, the display of the dead has been a huge hit. >> i wasn't expecting to it go viral. but everyone seems to want to share their memories of the stores and the places. and it's cool to get a reaction. >> reporter: joshua says he truly enjoys people passing by and taking a look. visiting hours are until halloween. >> i hope it brings a smile to their face i'll get a lot of comments oh, i remember going there >> reporter: does that make you feel good? >> yeah, it does it's good to see interaction from people about something good for a change, or something fun >> our thanks to sam reed for that report. one of my favorite, the christmas tree shoppe.

r.i.p. >> your favorite >> bed bath & beyond the christmas tree shops i found out a couple of weeks ago. what do you mean i was looking forward to going there. tackling an entirely new category of music, she released her new christmas album. it has 13 tracks and her own takes on classics like santa baby and run run rudolph she was joined by stevie wonder, darlene love, cyndi lauper and many more. and it's now available to stream. >>

to spare civilians, but air strikes are ramping up on the gaza strip as israel targets hamas operatives, but also causes scores of civilian deaths. and we will tell you about the israel-american moth