there is some relief in israel this morning as hamas releases two more hostages into egypt. still, more than 200 slisraelis remain captive on the gaza strip. a live update ahead.

congress will try again today to pick a nominee for house speaker. eight republican candidates are vying for the gavel. can any of them make their fractured party come together. more uaw workers walk off the job in detroit a major escalation in the fight that sees no sign in ending. newly uncovered footage of britney spears' failed audition. and the youngest head coach in the country working alongside one of the oldest. it's tuesday, october 24 "early today" starts right now good morning, i'm phillip mena >> i'm frances rivera. we begin in the middle east. hamas has released two more hostages from gaza two elderly israeli women are confirmed to have been handed over on the egyptian peribordert

gaza still, more than 200 remain in captivity. >> we want to bring in claudio lavanga. do we know why these two hostages were chosen to be released >> reporter: good morning, phillip. the al qassam brigade posted a message on their telegram account saying they decided to release these two hostages for compelling, humanitarian reasons. there is a video showing the two elderly women, one is 79, the other one is 85, who are on stretchers in two ambulances they're speaking to someone who looks like health worker nbc news could not independently verify this video, but the red cross has confirmed that they did facilitate their release and transported them out of gaza on monday night now, following their release, president biden, well, the white house issued a statement saying that president biden spoke to the israeli prime minister,

benjamin netanyahu saying that of course he welcomed the release of the two new hostages and that he reaffirms his commitment to the ongoing effort to release the remaining more than 200 hostages still being held in gaza, but at least according to four other u.s. officials who spoke to nbc news, the u.s. and president biden is also asking, advising israel to delay the ground operations so to give more time to hostage negotiation as well, as allowing more time for humanitarian aid, much-needed humanitarian aid to get into gaza. well, they, officials stress that this is not, doesn't mean that the u.s. is dictating or is ordering israel to do anything, but they are saying that they advise this because they don't want israel to act or rather react with emotion and rage that could potentially lead to a

dangerous escalation in the region on the diplomatic level today the united nations security council will meet to discuss the situation in the region. antony blinken will be there as well as other leaders from that region phillip, frances >> claudio lavanga starting us off, thank you china's top diplomat arrives in washington on thursday for a long weekend visit as d.c. and beijing publicly show they are in contact, despite tense bilateral relations. foreign minister wang yi will meet with antony blinken and jake sul have on a host of issue, including the war in gaza, the war in ukraine and a recent collision in the south china sea between chinese and fill philippine boats in just a few hour,

republicans will meet to choose a candidate for speaker. dan meuser dropped out of the race to focus on campaigning in pennsylvania republicans have eight people to choose from. is there any hope this morning that republicans finally can find somebody to unite behind? >> reporter: good morning, phillip. the candidates for speaker did sound like they were on the same page last night. republicans spent hours behind closed doors in a forum, where each candidate was able to give a two-minute pitch, then answer questions. there is still no clear frontrunner, but multiple lawmakers said that they were confident that the speaker role will be filled by tonight. several also confirmed that during the forum all of the speaker candidates committed to backing whoever is chosen as the republican nominee >> everybody on the platform basically said we would support whoever was our nominee. our nominee will have my full support.

>> what i sensed was a need to move forward because that's what the american people want from us. they want us to come here and work and legislate. >> the body spoke enough about the desire that we not leave here tomorrow until we have that answer >> reporter: republicans will meet again this morning to begin voting on a nominee. there will be multiple rounds of voting by secret ballot. whoever gets the lowest number of votes will be eliminated from the next round, and this will continue until one candidate wins more than 50% of the vote and that nominee will then face the challenge of getting 217 votes in the full house to finally win the gavel and get the house back to work >> after almost three weeks now, thank you. now to a new twist in the search for four escaped inmates in georgia t ha it has been over a week since

they slipped out of the bibb county detention center. now a man they thought might have information shot himself when officers knocked on his door the sheriff did not say how badly wounded the man was. the dodge challenger believed to have been involved in the escape was found abandoned. the $73,000 reward is being offered for information leading to the inmates panera bread is facing a lawsuit from the family of a college student who died sara katz was 21 years old, had a heart condition, and her family says she went into cardiac arrest after drinking a charged lemonade the suit argues that panera did not warn customers about the drink properly, that it has more caffeine than would you find in two energy drinks combined the company said it will work quickly and thoroughly to investigate the matter >> the united auto workers strike is expanding with nearly 7,000 workers walking offer the

j off the job at a pickup factory. the total number of those striking is now up to 40,000 scientists are sounding the alarm over the future of antarctic ice. no matter how much carbon emissions are reduced, a key portion of antarctica will face an unavoidable melt. it will take hundreds of years and slowly add around six feet to sea levels. a taste of winter is on the way for some of us parts of the rockies could see more than a foot of snow today meteorologist michelle grossmann is tracking the system impacting the middle of the country. >> yes, it's that time of year winter weather alerts in place and we could see quite a bit of snow in some spots, montana, idaho into the high plains and northern rockies

also watching a cold front moving through the middle of the country bringing rounds of rain and the chance for flooding as well so a flood risk, especially for parts of texas into oklahoma and then we have a severe weather chance in the upper midwest. so portions of minnesota into wisconsin could see some pretty strong storms today then by tomorrow morning, showers crossing the kbragreat lakes an northeast. we could see flash flooding. so just be careful as you're out and about today. green bay could see strong storms the biggest threats, we're looking at winds gusting up to 60 miles per hour. could see hail a low tornado threat, but it's not zero heavy rain is the big one from the southern plains to the great lakes. look at all those dark colors, the oranges, reds, yellows, where we're expecting the heaviest amount of rain. be and hereisoking at the chance g

storms and flooding rains in parts of the southern plains dallas could see rain. 85 in san antonio. all right, guys, it's your tuesday forecast >> all right, michelle, thanks "early today" is back in 60 seconds with a look at how wednesdaofy war have evolved. how the united states has helped use technology to change how battles are won. hey! you guys want to come in? my mom made dinner. make your table legendary, with country crock. have fun, sis! ♪♪ can't stop adding stuff to your cart? get the bank of america customized cash rewards card, choose the online shopping category and earn 3% cash back. you know that feeling of having to rewash dishes that didn't get clean?

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trinity test was created by america's top military and scientific experts of the time, led by robert oppenheimer. >> it was needed to put an end to the war and had a chance of so doing we thought that was the right thing to do. >> reporter: at that time, the war doctrine became the first with the bomb held the ultimate threat total aninihilation >> japan, and first picturing of the burned-out shells of its greatest city. >> reporter: days later, a japanese surrender after the bombing of heiroshima and nagasaki. >> i remember the lines from the hindu scripture, now i am become death, a destroyer of worlds all right bombs that ended the war sparked a nuclear arms race for hydrogen bombs >> equal to ten million tons of tnt. >> dread sequence. and the fearful engines of atomic might are not ours alone. the secret is also known by the

soviet union >> the chinese exploded on target a nuclear weapon carry bid acarryed by a missile >> reporter: a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier and submarines followed >> in a nuclear war, the decisive battlefield could be not on land or in the air but here under water >> reporter: and in the long shadow of hiroshima and nog salk eye and the nuclear buildup that followed, the super powers quickly realized that a cornerstone was the threat of mutual assured destruction and the cold war began >> in korea, indochina, in any other vital area has its adverse effect on us >> reporter: the u.s. pouring

trillions. the sr-71 black bird then came planes designed to be invisible to enemy radar sometimes half a billion dollars each but over the last century, u.s. soldiers have seen combat in all its forms, covert raids. >> the apache is armed with hellfire missiles that can seriously reduce the bluebook value of a tank. >> reporter: decisive operations led to shock and awe of desert storm, where more-advanced weaponry reigned supreme. >> air attacks are under way against military targets in iraq >> and i assure you, this will not be a campaign of half measures and we will accept no outcome. >> reporter: and then there are the large-scale occupations, mired in poor planning and

blindness to the asimtry still, in the modern erarks the united states has been the world's undisputed military super power, with drones now presenting a faster and cheaper way to kill at scale what does the future of global warfare actually look like >> our thanks to gadi schwartz for that report. still to come, britney spears fans are saying give me more after a decades-old audition tape finally surfaces we'll break it down right after this 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. want luxury hair repair that doesn't cost $50? pantene's pro-vitamin formula repairs hair. as well as the leading luxury bonding treatment. for softness and resilience, without the price tag. if you know... you know it's pantene.

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latest in entertainment. desus nice made his return as the latest host of "the daily show." he tackled taylor swift's appearance at the chief's game, and talked with alexandria ocasio-cortez. i haven't seen him without a baseball cap or in a suit ever first of all, that was jarring that dude is funny he was so fun we desus and nero, before they broke up >> maybe it will be a place to stay >> the netflix film "old dads" is prompting sharp divide. it's a trio of late-life fathers trying to come to terms with the modern world it currently sits at 22% at rotten tomatoes. but users on the site were almost overwhelmingly positive,

giving it an 89% rating. i watched this with my husband, and there were some pretty crass laugh-out-loud moments, but it kind of dragged on it could have been condensed a little bit, but overall kind of funny. younger dads versus older dads >> whenever the critics and fans disagree, i tend to side with the fans the daily mail has uncovered a major piece of britney spears lore she performs a scene with her former mickey mouse club star ryan gosling although she lost out on her role to rachel mcadams, the mail was told that spears' audition was not just good but phenomenal what a what-if moment. >> she full on became the role you mowknow who she beat out?

scarlett johansson, claire danes, amy adams and jessica biel, who all tried out, and they said she was the one that was second in the running. >> unbelievable. when we come back, spooky news for the cost of candy this halloween. and soon you'll have a new 2003 step into the world of pixar at disneyland. 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.

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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. soon you'll be able to stay inside a pixar-themed hotel and scary news for halloween candy covid infects plaque in coronary arteries, it helps explain the link between covid and strokes. chevron is buying hess it comes two weeks after exxonmobil announced plans to acquire pioneer natural resources. halloween chocolate is going

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for 45 days. that's the power of febreze small spaces. 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 new jersey high school football team boast the youngest coach in the state but working right alongside him is one of the oldest high school coaches in the country john chandler with nbc news new york introduces us >> reporter: morristown beard is winning under taj valentine.

it was only six years ago that this program was winning with running back taj valentine at 23, taj is the youngest head coach in new jersey, one of the youngest in the country, and coaching alongside him is one of the oldest >> i don't think i would be able to do it without coach d >> reporter: he speaks with experience, 90 years of it >> they call it old school yeah, i am a lot old school, but i know the fundamentals, and those fundamentals don't go away >> reporter: do you think he's the oldest coach in the country? >> he might be the oldest coach in the world for any sport >> reporter: he has coached football and baseball. taj is his head coach, but he started out as an 8-year-old ball boy >> i gave him a baseball hat, couple balls and stuff like that and recently, he said to me, coach, you mayde my life i said wow >> reporter: what is it like to

hear that? >> brings me, very emotional, very emotional i love the kid >> reporter: and the kids love the coach. >> he's up here every day, giving people advice occasionally ripping into me. >> guys, we've done this so many times. i don't understand the confusion. >> reporter: on the field, this 90-year-old coach doesn't miss a beat or a ball. >> kid through a ball about 40 yards, and they're yelling at me, heads up >> coach snagged it out of nowhere. >> one handed. tucked it, perfect ends covered looks like he was about to run someone over >> reporter: joe did play football for over a decade, and no, he didn't wear a leather helmet >> no,l i had a plastic helmet, but close. >> they went oh, coach they thought i was an old geezer >> reporter: but you got hands >> lucky, lucky. >> our thanks to john chandler

for bringing that story. i loved it, 90 years old >> i can't get enough of coach h and what he'll learn and the younger coach, and vice versa. >> keeping them young. coming up, major retailers plagued with retail crime. the "today" show talks about censors and thermathe way.