right >> there, more news is on the way. it's the final stretch of 2024 race. donald trump and kamala harris

campaign in battleground nevada, as harris calls trump out, out of touch, after his promise to protect women, whether they like it or not. elon musk skips a hearing over his million dollar giveaways after his legal team files to move the case to federal court. why the d.a.'s legal team is calling the move cowardly. a montana family looking for answers after a man is brutally murdered in a scene so gruesome it was mistaken for a bear attack. what police say actually happened. the u.s. says thousands of north korean troops could enter russia's war against ukraine in a matter of days. secretary of state blinken's plea for china to interview. and it's not just l.a. going wild over the dodgers. japan is in celebration mode thanks to a couple of hometown heroes who helped lead l.a. to victory. it's friday, november 1st.

"early today" starts right now. good morning. i'm christina ruffini. with four days left in the race, the presidential candidates will hold dueling rallies in wisconsin. vice president harris will be join by rapper cardi b, while former president trump who has faced scrutiny over his comments about women increased personal attacks against harris in his rally last night. >> she can't handle the presidency. she'll get overwhelmed, meltdown and millions of people will die. this is not a charity event. this is an election for the biggest and most important job in history. do you want to lose your job? or maybe your house? or pension because kamala has the economic understanding of a child? she's a child. >> nbc's gabe gutierrez has more from the campaign trail. >> reporter: with just days to go, vice president harris with renewed urgency, targeting key

western battlegrounds in arizona and nevada. >> we all know who donald trump is. this is someone who is unstable. obsessed with revenge. >> reporter: and now, attacking former president trump for these comments about women. >> i want to protect the women of our country. i want to protect the women. sir, please don't say that. why? they staid waid we think it's v inappropriate for you to say. i said, well, i'm going to do it whether the women like it or not. i'm going to protect them. i'm going to protect them from migrants coming in. i'm going to protect them from foreign countries that want to hit us with missiles. >> reporter: the exclusively t speaking exclu speaking exclusively with yamiche alcindor. >> reporter: former president trump said he would protect women whether they like it or not. >> i'll speak on behalf of myself, but also the americans that i speak with every day around our country, regardless

of their gender. which is, the majority of americans believe that women are intelligent enough and should have and be respected for their agency, to make decisions for themselves about what is in their best interests and not have their government and certainly not donald trump telling them what to do. and his latest comment is just the most recent ina series of examples that we have seen from him, in his words and deeds. about how he devalues the ability of women to have the, the choice and the freedom to make decisions about their own bodies. >> reporter: day one, what's your first executive action? >> well, my first priority, which will be probably a package of bills is about bringing down the coarsst of living. it's about housing, childcare, what we need to do to deal with grocery prices. >> reporter: lebron james is endorsing harris and writing a statement saying the choice is

clear to me. mark cuban is facing backlash after he answered why he thought trump had not asked nikki haley to campaign with him. >> donald trump, you never see him around strong, intelligent women, ever. it's just that simple. they're intimidating to him. >> that attack by mark cuban was an attack on tens of millions of hard-working women across this country who proudly support president trump. >> reporter: a poll suggests a huge gender gap. women supporting harris by 14 points, but she's struggling with men who are backing trump by 16 points. outside her rally in reno, we met jenny and kate, who say they're deeply offended by trump's comments. >> i don't trust anything out of his mouth, but i don't think he really agrees with women or supports women or respects women, given his track history -- >> it's ironic that he wants to support women on his terms and not ours. >> reporter: in the race's

critical last days, democrats are trying to build upon that support of women with a new ad voiced by julia roberts. >> you can vote any way you want. and no one will ever know. >> reporter: trump supporter patricia montez finds that idea insulting and says the former president's comments don't bother her. >> looking out for women's best interests. he's not going to force anybody into anything. that's the way he talks. some say locker room talk or guy talk. it's just talk. >> our thanks to gabe for that report. now vice president harris just got a powerful new endorsement. the avengers assembled to show support for her campaign. >> i think kamala harris needs a catchphrase. >> ooh, yes. definitely a catchphrase. >> how about this? i'm just, off the top of my head. i can do this all day. >> shut up. i hate it. >> okay. >> i mean, it's original, but. >> what about something punchier

like. >> ooh, ooh, boom. are you looking for this? >> everybody loves it. >> i think we're just trying to get out the vote. >> kamala forever. >> that's better >> after much deliberation, the super heroes eventually decided on the catchphrase, "i'm down with democracy". billionaire elon musk was a no-show in court on thursday despite an order from a judge. but his legal team was there. they filed papers asking that the matter be moved from state to federal court. it means that musk and his super pac are free to continue running the daily contest. now a lawyer for the philadelphia d.a. who brought the suit called the move, quote, cowardly and filed an emergency motion to have the case sent back to the state jurisdiction. on thursday, the biden administration announced it's expecting north korean troops in russia to begin fighting against ukraine in the coming days. u.s. secretary of state antony

blinken now urging china to intervene, after north korea conducted its longist-ever intercontinental ballistic missile test in over a year. matt, what is happening here? what does the u.s. have to say? >> reporter: christina, good morning. the white house yesterday said some 8,000 north korean troops have made their way over from russia's far east to positions near the ukrainian border. in the coming days, they are expected to join russian forces fighting against ukraine. now this number, 8,000 troops, it represents a dramatic increase in the size of the korean force. it has been confirmed by western officials earlier this week, for example, that number was just 3,000. now ukrainian forces staged an incursion into the kursk region of russia in august, they seized a large swath of russian territory. this was meant to draw troops off the front lines of eastern

ukraine, an area of ukraine they are struggling to thohold. the kremlin has not taken that bait. they are doubling down in the donbas region and the russian forces in kursk has struggled to expel ukraine's incursion. all that said, austin yesterday said the u.s. expects ukraine will be able to hold against these north korean troops as their numbers are not actually enough to offset the losses that russia itself is taking on the front. and that current estimate is, by the united states, is around 1,250 troops per day. this development, north korean forces entering a european war, is seen as a major escalation by nato. western officials have suggested that north korea is receiving priceless russian assistance on missile technology and north korea did conduct its largest-ever test of an intercontinental ballistic missile.

blinken is calling or china to intervene and use their position with russia to deescalate. the death toll after the catastrophic flooding in eastern and southern spain has jumped to at least 158. emergency services in valencia say the number is provisional and that the process of identifying victims continues. many small towns and villages have been hard hit and hard to reach by road due to mud and debris. the government is focussed on saving as many lives as possible. meteorologists estimate that a year's worth of rain fell in just eight hours. back here at home, halloween brought record heat in the northeast. temperatures climbed into the high 70s and 80s up through new england and even in spooky places like salem, massachusetts. trick-or-treaters in minnesota, not so lucky. parts of the state, including minneapolis and duluth got hit with a snowstorm. so, what's in store for the first weekend of november? let's get to nbc meteorologist michelle grossman. good morning. i was out in the city earlier.

nobody had to mortwear a coat. >> cute little costumes. definitely didn't need the coat. we're going to do one more day of really warm weather. we have two seasons going on. a cold front draped from the great lakes to the south central states. behind this cold front we're chilly, below normal. temperatures in the 40s, 50s, 60s. ahead of the cold front we're going to be warm one more day before we return more normal temperatures. 70s and 80s along the east coast. about 20 degrees above what is typical. raleigh, anderson. this cold front is going to bring a few showers and drop temperatures. but take a look what happens behind the cold front. warmth building back in. temperatures climbing into the 60s and 70s once again. 27 72 in little rock. that's going to aid storms in texas. this is a look at the weekend. notice in the middle of the county, especially the central and southern plains, we aring looking at the chance for severe

storms, and we could see flooding as well. by sunday that kind of expands in and we're looking at a warm tay day in the south central states. all right, that's your friday forecast. >> thanks, michelle. all right, so boston university held its annual pumpkin drop on wednesday, and it's pretty much exactly what you'd think. a campus tradition where students chuck pumpkins off a tall building. the squash dropping started as a physics project to calculate the force of gravity. now it's more of a fun, messy party. people apparently stuff things inside the pumpkins like mayo or catsup.

the grocer the better. it's messy but eco friendly. we're back in a minute with a sudden end to young thug's long racketeering trial. and a murder case originally and a murder case originally reported emerge as you, with clearer skin. with tremfya®, most people saw 100% clear skin... ...that stayed clear, tremfya® is proven to significantly reduce joint pain, stiffness, and swelling. serious allergic reactions and increased risk of infections may occur. before treatment, your doctor should check you for infections and tb. tell your doctor if you have an infection, sky country. flu-like symptoms or if you need a vaccine. emerge as you with clear skin. ask your doctor about tremfya®. ♪♪

ne new this morning, young thug is out of prison after pleading guilty to georgia's longest-running criminal trial. the 33-year-old atlanta rapper whose legal name is jeffrey williams, was indicted in 2022 on racketeering charges in fulton county. he was accused of leading a violent street gang that committed a range of crimes, including murder, armed robbery and drug dealing. more than a dozen co-defendants have also been charged. williams will serve at least 15 years on probation and could serve prison time if he violates the terms of his sentence. now to montana, where a man is in custody, accused of a brutal murder that was initially reported as a bear attack.

morgan chesky has the grizzly details. >> reporter: a stunning break in a disturbing death. montana authorities are now calling murder. >> this homicide appears to be a chance encounter. >> reporter: the gallatin county chf arresting 41-year-old darren abbey who they say confessed to the gruesome murder of an avid outdoorsman and father who never returned from a camping trip. >> he welcomed him to the camp site and offered him a beer. at some point, this individual struck justin with a piece of solid wood, stabbed him in the neck with a screw driver and ultimately hit him with the ax. >> reporter: on october 12, a few miles outside big sky, his girlfriend and friend discovered the 35-year-old's body inside his tent. the aftermath so brutal they told 911 it looked like a bear attack. but authorities weren't convinced. >> during the investigation, the detectives collected dna from a

beer can inside his tent. >> reporter: that dna leading investigators to abbey, who was already in custody for violating probation. investigators believe the suspect acted alone but say his motive is still unclear. as a grief-stricken family clings tight. >> he was a loving, helpful, and adorning father. who in no way deserved this. >> reporter: morgan chesky, nbc news. still to come, as night fell on all hallow's eve, all eyes were on heidi klum. find out how shy rang in the find out how shy rang in the holida while watching the game. who's winning? we are, my friend. we are. sometimes jonah wrestles with falling ay alon.. from other stars get the rest to be your best with non-habit forming zzzquil. ♪ ♪

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a transformation has begun. three, two, one. now we're done. >> all right, there is room for more than one extraterrestrial this halloween. heidi klum added e.t. to her legendary lineup of costumes, suiting up as the iconic alien

for her also-iconic annual halloween party. it comes just a day after janelle monae also appeared as e.t. now elsewhere, the stars of scandal reunited to pay tribute to another love triangle. kerry washington dressed from the hit "challengers", where paris hilton turned the clock back to 1999 to the "baby one more time" video. and leave it to ed sheeran with a real-life version of an a.i.-generated image of him wearing a monkey costume. this makes me feel so old. i was in high school when this britney spears video came out. >> she looks amazing. i look less good. >> look at your outfit. >> if all goes right, we may see resurgence of "game of thrones."

a big screen version of the fantasy series is in early development at warner bros. there's no word on whether it would be a continuation of the hbo show which ended in 2019 or an adaptation. i have never seen this. my husband's watched all of them. >> we already have the dragon thing. now we're going to do another one? >> another one. have you watched it? >> i did, and i kind of got interested. when we come back, it may be the last call for alcohol at t t.g.i t.g.i.fridays. t.g.i.fridays. and mariah carey unveils a an advanced form of the disease. his struggle with vision loss from amd made me want to help you see warning signs of ga, like: new holiday decor collection in time for christmas

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the celebrations stretched far beyond los angeles. fans went wild in japan, the home of dodgers super star shohei ohtani. our janis mackey frayer visited his hometown. >> reporter: the world series title belongs to los angeles. >> the dodgers have won the world series! >> reporter: but the victory is sweet half a world away. in baseball-obsessed japan, viewership hit record levels. at one point, 15.9 million people watching here. more than in the u.s. that surge has everything to do with shohei ohtani, the dodgers' super star who, with his teammate are national icons here. even at my age, i'm really awed byhim, he said. nowhere has baseball fever burned brighter than in the rural town where ohtani grew up. where it all started for shohei ohtani was here on this field, practicing at least five hours a

day, every day to hone his skills. for young maplayers on his old high school team, an inspiration. yoe ta ohtani is a celestial figure here. how many pieces do you have here? >> about 3,000. >> reporter: 3,000. he says there's more in storage. all week, people gathered to watch the games at community centers. the win, such a huge moment of pride for japan. newspapers printed extra editions. while the team was soon back at the same field that led their hometown hero to the top. janis mackey frayer, nbc news, japan. less than three weeks after the election, some incredible artifacts of presidential history will be going under the gavel at gurnsy's auction house.

that includes the flag that dr draped abraham lincoln's coffin. >> the coffin was loaded onto a train in washington and then embarked on a historic run from washington to philadelphia to new york city, on to other stops as it made its way to springfield, illinois where the president was buried. >> other items include a lock of george washington's actual hair, in case that's something you wanted. and the only 49-star presidential seal when eisenhower was president. thanks for watching "early today.

day. vice president kamala harris and former president donald trump out on the campaign trail, mcl