tonight, head-to-head for the first time. a television audience of 100 million or more expected. the most important event of the election yet. arnold palmer, the king of golf, has died. we have reactions from president obama jack nicklaus, tiger woods, and more. the curfew lifted. but protests persist in charlotte where a possible new call to action may be happening today. the shocking death of one of baseball's bright stars. and his fight to become a u.s. citizen. and a man risks his life to save a distressed deer and a competition not for the faint of heart. "early today" starts right now. >> good morning. i'm gigi stone woods.

has died from heart complications at the age of 87. he won seven majors and 62 pga titles. he reignited the sports in the 1960s along with arnie's army. later in life, he became an ambassador for the game, a successful pitchman, and well known for his signature drink, the arnold palmer. a mix of lemonade and iced tea. the out pouring just incredible. tiger woods thanked him for his friendship, counsel and a lot of laughs. without you or anyone more important to the game than the king. golfigate jack nicklaus adding arnold transengding the game of golf. he was an icon, he was a legend. and president obama posted a photo of himself putting in the oval office along with arnold saying here's to the king who was an extraordinary on the links as he was generous to others. thanks for the memories arnold.

remarkable life. >> reporter: arnold palmer grew up the son of a green's keeper turned head golf professional in pennsylvania. his hollywood good looks and powerful yet unorthodox swing made him a golf superstar. fans crowded in droves and came to be known as arny's army. many who couldn't watch in person, did so in their living rooms during the 1950s and '60s. palmer helped make golf the tv sport it is today. his popularity grew. companies wanted arnie pitching their products. >> arnie, the said, you'll like it. the tractor will like it. same pennzoil, new package. >> reporter: nickname "the king" he became famous for his shot making. he loved to take chances on the course, saying, quote, you must play boldly to win. and win he did. 7 majors, 95 professional

start in 1980. palmer stopped playing the champions tour in 2006, but remained a vital part of the game. his golfing empire includes golf schools, golf equipment can clothing lines. he designed more than 200 courses around the world. and in 2012, he was awarded the congressional gold medal, recognizing his contributions as a golfer and philanthropist. >> i got to thank god for the game of golf. >> arnold palmer will be remembered as one of the greatest players to ever pick up a club. a blue collar guy from a small steel town who transcended his sport, becoming a hero to so many. kirk gregory, nbc news. today marks perhaps the single most important day in the presidential campaign.

university for their first general election debate with lester holt cross-examiing trump and clinton on some of the most important questions facing the next leader of the free world. each held meetings with izlaly prime minister benjamin netanyahu, with middle east instability high on their agendas. the clinton camp held a third debate session. as surrogates for both campaigns manage expectations ahead of the big night. >> i know this about hillary clinton, when the lights are bright like they are now, she brings the a-plus game to the table. she's going to be very, very good tomorrow night. >> i can understand why the clinton camp is very nervous because donald trump's got great presence, stature. he's a brilliant debarrett. >> he can't lie on the debate stage and get a pass. >> he's like the babe ruth of debating. he shows up and swings and does

this election cycle has interjected itself into the campaign after donald trump's threat he could invite gennifer flowers to the debate. the woman who claimed in the early '90s to have had a long-running affair with bill clinton, putting his presidential campaign in trouble. that was a response to a tweet by billionaire clinton backer mark cuban. "just got a front row seat to watch hillary clinton overwhelm donald trump at the humbling at hofstra on monday. it is on. trump responded posting, dopey mark cuban wants to sit in the front row, perhaps i'll put gennifer flowers alongside him. now, supervisors are doing their best to quell reports that she will be at the debate. >> we have not invited her formally and we don't expect her to be a guest of the trump campaign. >> the question is why would hillary clinton and her campaign inviting some celebrity

gennifer flowers will not be attending the debate tomorrow night. >> the public says clinton is the odds-on favorite to win tonight with a new poll saying clinton will clinch it, while 33% say trump will. that same poll has clinton with just a 2% lead over trump nationally. joining us more from the debate site is tracie potts. what can we expect tonight? >> it's a lot expectations from both sides, really. let's talk about the numbers and how many people are expected to watch this debate tonight. up to 100 million are the estimates we're seeing. the biggest debate we have ever seen before that was reagan and carter back in 1980. that was over 80 million. so this debate expected to well top that. we have new poll numbers in this morning as well. bloomberg now has them tied at 46%. going into this debate, she seemed to have an edge, although a declining edge in the national

battleground state polls and now on the morning of the debate, we've got them tied. so a lot of high expectations going into this. the clinton people say they want the fact checking done. they dont want donald trump to get iowa with saying anything on that stage. trump's campaign manager just this morning saying that the push to get the media to fact check, that they shouldn't really be telling the media what to do when it comes to the debate. managing expectations is going to be quite interesting. show his command of issue snz is hillary clinton going to be able to outline her plans and her thoughts while trying to push back whatever donald trump might bring across the table? we'll see what happens tonight. >> tracie potts live for us outside of hofstra university there. >> be sure to watch nbc's coverage of the debate tonight at 9:00 p.m. eastern time right here on nbc. >> protests in charlotte are

keith lamont scott. charlotte's mayor lifted the city's midnight curfew last night after a weekend of protests that remained peaceful but still rife with tension. hundreds of activists boycotted the nfl game between the carolina panthers and the minnesota vikings, taking a knee outside the bank of america stadium as the star-spangled banner played, police in riot gear stood watch. >> on the field, marcus ball raised his hand in support while newton wore a martin luter king jr. justice t-shirt in the warmups. it follows the partial release of police and body cam video showing the final moments of scott's life and his confrontation with charlotte police. charlotte's police chief insisted his officers acted appropriately and will not face charges from his department. >> if laws were violated, i would be taking different

his death and the relevance of finding marijuana in his possession. >> obviously, a combination of marijuana and a gun constitutes aggravated act of aggression that puts the lives of these officers in dangerous. >> overseas were hopes of a cease-fire in syria have all but dissipated. as the syrian government entered its fourth day of air strikes in aleppo. the united states convened an emge a clash fween russia and three western powers. >> what russia is sponsoring and doing is not counterterrorism, it's barbarism. >> ambassadors for the u.s., britain and france walked out of the meeting to protest syria's ambassador, even as word that dozens more were killed in government air strikes. so far, russia's ambassador has offered no sign of reigning in syria, but on the ground,

running out. just ahead, the details surrounding the boating accident and death of 24-year-old rising star of major league baseball. >> first, bill karins with flood threats. >> over the weekend, we watched the cedar river in iowa and the northeast portion of the state well above its banks. in some cases, the second highest level we have ever seen. here's aerial drone foot blg. these bridges were tested. that water was going right against them. the big story in the wests record highs are possible. dangerous winds, santa ana winds. a classic setup today. red flag warnings from los angeles to palm springs. high temperatures today, andee could easily be up to 101 in downtown l.a. good luck to the firefighters. that's a look at the big weather story. now here's a closer look at the day ahead. >> you can see that heat

palm springs, 100. in the central valley, 101. sacramento at 98. san francisco today, 92 degrees. that's incredible heat. here's more pictures of that dangerous flooding and dramatic footage, too. that's a deer that stumbled into the floodwaters. the current is too fast. the deer eventually does get stuck near a bridge, but struggled to stay with his head out of the water. thankfully, this guy, tethered deer. he was released into the woods safely. happy ending. "early today" back in two. i laugh, i sneeze... there goes my sensitive bladder. sound familiar? then you'll love this. incredible protection in a pad this thin. i didn't think it would work, but it does. it's called always discreet watch this. this super absorbent core turns liquid to gel, for incredible protection that's surprisingly thin.

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it's lemonade, man! fifteen minutes could save you fifteen percent or more. i used to blame the weather for my frizz. turns out my curls needed to be stronger. pantene's pro-v formula makes my curls so strong... ...they can dry practically frizz free. is beautiful. an auburn university tradition goes horribly wrong. auburn fans celebrating a football win saturday took to tumor's corner to roll the oak trees in toilet paper. but this time, someone decided to set the paper in fire, engulfing the tree in flames in minutes. a horticulture professor says

or weeks to come. police have arrested a 29-year-old auburn man and charged him with desecration of a venerable object. the tree that burned was a replacement for one of several poisoned by a disgruntled fan in 2010. leading the news, miami marlins pitcher, jose fernandez has been killed in a boating accident. he was 24 years old. fernandez first came to the u.s. after defecting from cuba in 2008. after three failed attempts, he became a u.s. citizen just last year. the u.s. coast guard says people killed in the early sunday morning accident, after a 32-foot boat crashed into a jetty off miami beach. officials add there's no initial indication of alcohol or illegal drugs involved, although speed does appear to be a factor. the two-time all-star won the national league rookie of the year award in 2013. he was known as a pitching phenom and one of the best young

one of the best seasons of his young career. yesterday, don mattingly played tribute to fernandez. >> when i think about jose, it's going to be thinking of that little kid. i see such a little boy in him when -- >> tough to watch. jose fernandez, dead at 24. >> state mall shooting, they police described as zombie like is 20-year-old arcan cetin is expected to appear in court as he faced up to five counts of first degree for the shooting spree. the turkish immigrant, a legal resident of the united states, was caught after a more than 20-hour manhunt. he was arrested 20 miles southwest of where the shooting occurs and according to the

assault charges and a drunken record arrest. the identities of those killed will be released tuesday. >> jeff rossen reports on hidden dangerouses that could potentially hard your children at school. you're watching "early today." g" here you go. here you go. and here you go. buy any five mccaf? beverages and you get one for free when you use the mcdonald's app. here you go. enjoy a mccaf? moment. now come in and try our pumpkin spice latte. ? ? nivea in-shower body lotion after washing apply and rinse 24 hours of moisture with no sticky feel. then get dressed and go. delight your senses with in-shower cocoa butter.

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grossing $35 million its opening weekend. coming in second, storks debuted with $21 million. and sully rounds out the top three, earning $13 million in its third week. stocks are kicking off in the red overseas. many global investors keeping a close eye on the race for a president here at home, and in particular, tonight's debate. courtney reagan is here with the details. good morning. >> good morning to you. wall street could start the week out in the red. asian and european markets are lower today, and attention may the federal reserve to the u.s. presidential race. traders say they'll be watching tonight's debate to see whether it will shift momentum in the race which could trigger a new wave of markel volatility. snapchat is getting into the hardware game. they start to plan selling sunglasses equipped with cameras this fall. they'll cost about $130. they'll record video from the user's perspective in ten-second

it's averaging $2.25 a gallon. that's still tent cents less than a year ago. the increase is mostly due to higher oil prices, refiners and retailers passing the cost right back on to consumers. back to you. >> thanks for that, courtney. >> just ahead, it's south by southwest, obama style. >> plus, prince george delivering a royal snub. we'll tell you all about it. stay with us. ng. she said i should think of my teeth like an apple. it could be great on the outside not so great on the inside. use a toothpaste and mouthwash that strengthens both. go pro with crest pro-health advanced. it's uniquely formulated with activestrength technology to strengthen teeth inside and is better at strengthening the outside than colgate total. crest toothpaste and mouthwash makes my whole mouth feel amazing. advance to healthier gums and stronger teeth from day one.

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they're like raisins in a cookie, they shouldn't be there. they disgust people. but most politicians have at least a few raisins and hillary is a cookie like this one. she arguably has more raisins than average. there's probably 10. but we all need to remember that when it comes to donald trump, this is the amount of raisins that he represents. the man is a [ bleep ] raisin monsoon. he is epically compromised to an almost unprecedented degree. >> i can't think of another comedian or late night host that has put donald trump in their sights more than john olver. every week seems like to be a new dig at donald trump. >> he can get away with what he can. >> absolutely. president obama is hosting his own festival, calling it south by southwest lawn. he teamed up with the south by southwest festival to create a

lume nears, a kids festival, and a conversation between the president and leonardo dicaprio about climate change. it will be streamed live at whitehouse.gov on october 3rd. the british royal family touched down in canada and canadian prime minister justin trudeux was there to greet him. probably didn't expect this. a little rejection from prince george, a royal one. the toddler shooking his head in to give him a high five. his charm couldn't win over the little prince. i have to think it's not impossible no one tried to high five him before. >> he has to get used to it. >> all right, this is "early today." stay with us. once upon a time in the depths of your own cupboard, lived eco-friendly products waiting to be discovered.

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the first presidential debate -- presidential

the first presidential debate -- expected to get super-bowl sized ratings.. we have what you need to watch for tonight.. and speaking of the super-bowl.. can the cards make it? sports insider jay taylor shares his predictions.. the popular boys band is making las vegas it's home.. for now.. the details in your morning juice. ???adlib ???adlib welcome welcome???adlib morning juice. ???adlib welcome ???toss weather