clearly a disappointing moment. >> we are not celebrating. we are relieved that millions and millions of people who would have been so drastically hurt by the three proposals put forward will at least retain their health care. >> the worst possible outcome i to pass something that most of us believe is a placeholder. >> right now, i am voting no. >> the republican repeal of obamacare fails in the dark of night with three gop senators rebelling. and president trump tweeting his displeasure. >> that as the new white house communications director unleashes an explosive tirade of nasty and vulgar allegations towards trump's top aides. new details of what went

tragically wrong at the ohio state fair. >> and a fascinating police bodycam video of venus williams moments after an ill-fated crash. "early today" starts right now. good to be with you. especially on a friday morning. i'm frances rivera. >> i'm phillip mena. >> a late night in congress. the vote a big defeat for senate republicans. >> really ground-breaking and pivotal and following these developments as well. >> breaking overnight, the news splashed across the headlines in this country after seven years of campaigning and long-held promises, senate republicans have been soundly defeated in their attempt to repeal obamacare. we see vice president mike pence there departing the capitol late into the night. he's no longer needed to cast that tiebreaking vote after the gop plan failed 51-49. then minority leader chuck schumer celebrating, hugging others as he leaves the hill in the dead of night. the loss comes after republicans launched one last-ditch effort

to kill the bill they've derided for so long, pared down, skinnycare bill just hours before taking up a late-night vote that resulted in a major loss. >> and it looks like it all sen received cheers as he lot of the capitol build, getting a round of applause when he wd voting bill. chants could be heardweid as pr storming the grounds. the president reacting overnight. three republicans and democrats people down. as i said from the beginning, let obamacare implode, then deal. watch. for more let's head hill where garrett hick has been on hand all night. tell us how it all played out and how lawmakers reacted, sperks low that pivotal moment when senator mccain took to the floor. >> reporter: it was a fascinating, dramatic night in the senate. last n't hear that very often.

night, the plan coming into this vote was republican leaders hope to pass what they called a skinny obamacare repeal. basically just cobbling together what they thought were the most popular parts of their repeal effort and squeaking it by with 50 votes and mike pence to break the tie. but it wasn't to be. three republican senators ultimately voted no.ine, who has been a no vote all along. lisa murkowski from alaska who had been one of these off and on no votes on this but objected to some of the provisions, and then john mccain. coming into the night, john mccain said i'll only vote for this if i know it will never become law. i'd like toee ts go to a conference committee. i'd like to see something worked out with the house. speaker paul ryan spoke to republicans, he put out a statement, but it was not enough for john mccain. in this dramatic moment on the senate floor, joh ve with his wh a thumbs down like a roman emperor voting no and casting

that third and decisive vote against this measure. republicans were stunned. they were furious. but the effort to repeal and replace obamacare with something else doesn't necessarily go away permanently. lisa murkowski spoke exclusively with nbc after the vote. here's what she told us. >> i want us all to get back to how we can restart because the work is not done. we cannot -- we cannot let the public believe that we are done with health care. we are just beginning. >> reporter: so a lot of questions now about how or even if the senate continues its effort to repeal obamacare or if they just move on to tax reform or some other issue. but, guys, make no mistake. a big defeat tonight for republicans and for the trump administration here on capitol hill. >> and as well for mitch mcconnell who said it's time to move on.

whether they do and in what form, we will garrett, thank you. meanwhile, it is the 189th day of the trump administration, and the infighting from within the white house has taken oheady as dueling personalities take their battle into public view. with the central figure of it all, newly installed white house communication s director anthon scaramucci launching nasty allegations, threats and vulgar language at top white house aides just as the split between the president and his attorney general reaches new heights. nbc's kristen welker has the details. >> reporter: a profanity-laced tirade from the new white house communications director anthony scaramucci targeting two of the president's top advisers. scaramucci saying reince priebus is an expletsive, paranoid schizophrenic and attacking chief strategist steve bannon in such vulgar terms they cannot be repeated in television, also calling him a media-hungry

self-promoter. sources inside and outside the white house say priebus and block scaramucci from joining the administration. it comes as scaramucci is publicly feud with priebus, too, referring to priebus in stark terms. >> some brothers are like cain and abel. >> reporter: the biblical reference of bolstering speculation of a deep divide which started when scaramucci claimed his financial disclosure form was ld record, and seemed to point the finger at priebus in a tweet which was later deleted. scaramucci backed off blaming priebus directly for leak, but then this. >> if reince wants to explain he's not a leaker, let him do that. >> reporter: today the white house press secretary dodged questions about whether the president has confidence in priebus. >> he'll make that decision. we all serve at the pleasure of the president. >> reporter: but this isn't the only publicd the president hears spent days sharply criticizing attorney general jeff sessions for recusing himself from the russia investigation citing a conflict

of interest as a former campaign adviser. sessions speaking out in his most candid ter >> well, it's kind of hurtful, but the president of the united states is a strong leader. he's steadfastly determined to get his job done, and he wants all of us to do our jobs. and that's what i intend to do. >> reporter: sessions s even as speculation swirls the president is considering a recess appointment to replace him. >> the infighting in the administration is eclipsing the ajnda, and i think that's why so many republicans are rattled. >> reporter: and last night, scaramucci tweeted not denying the conversation saying, quote, i sometimes use colorful language. i arena, but not give up the passionate fight for donald trump's agenda. phillip, back to you. >> thank you, kristen. an indiana police department is mourning one of their own this morning. an officer was fatally shot allegedly by someone he was trying to help. southport police say lieutenant aaron allen responded to a car

wreck where two people were inside an overturned car. as he approached, police say one of the occupants began shoot, hitting allan. he was rushed to the hospital where he was pronounced dead. police returned fire injuring one person in the car. both are beingd the hospital. it's not clear why the suspect opened fire. new details from columbus on the deadly ride malfunction at the ohio state fair. federal and state investigators are working to figure out why the fireball ride crashed and fell a debris into the air. one person was killed and morning, three victims remain hospitalized and two are in critical condition. nbc's blake mccoy has tragic in. >> reporter: investigators are working to determine what caused this horrific ride malfunction at the ohio state fair. several riders flung one of the gondolas detached, crashing to the groubd. >> the fehrball, the ride in the

back left corner broke and people went tse two sisters were next in line to ride and frantically called their mom. >> just to hear the terror in their voice and, it was just -- i mean, indescribable. >> reporter: tyler gerald was ki he had just signed up for the marines. seven other people injured, some critically. jennifer lambert is in a medically induced coma. denise gonzales is her mother. >> she was such a healthy, young lady, only 18 trying ts what ha. >> reporter: all rides at the state fair are now shut down and being reinspected. ohio has some of the toughest ride inspection standards of any state. 11 rides didn't open wednesday because they had the green light. fire ball had been looked at several times in recent days as it was assembled by third party and state inspectors who assemb excessive wear, no missing

boelts bolts. it passed inspection the same day it malfunctions. any indication whether this was equipment orerror? >> we don't know that. that's part of the investigation. >> reporter: ohio's governor john kasich encouraged all people to come to the fair and that all rides carry a certain level of risk. >> we're looking for guarantees in life. they don't exist. >> reporter: investigators are going to be forming what they call an autopsy on the ride, taking it apart to determine what exactly went wrong. across the country this morning from california to illinois to new jersey, operators of similar rides have halted their use until they can determine exactly what went wrong. phillip, back to you. >> such a sad story. thank you, blake. turning to our weekend, we look at the weather and a stormy start for folks along the east coast. nbc meteorologist bill karins has the forecast. do we need to ditch our plans for the weekend? >> some people may want to reconsider that beach, yes, frances. 27 million people in flash flood

watches from northern alabama through virginia and the mid-atlantic region. a lot of clouds out there. rains just starting to begin in tennessee and kentucky. two to four inches of rain from richmond to baltimore, d.c., sa salsbury and atlantic city. those are the areas of greatest concern as we head into the weekend. should clear out by sunday

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death toll in venezuela has just surpassed 100 people. this comes just days before a polarizing eleio the country's constitution. the embattled president nicholas maduro supports the vote but many in the opposition plan to boycott claiming the election is part of a power grab. now to alaska where the fbi has made an arrest in a murder aboard a popular cruise ship there. the woman killed while thousands of others were on board. and this morning, the victim's husband is in custody. nbc's miguel almaguer has the chilling details. >> reporter: with the emerald princess docked in juneau, alaska, the fbi says a murder was committed at sea. 3400 passengers were on board the cruise ship as investigators pored over a cabin splattered with blood. an affidavit says a witness walked into ken eths manzanera's room where wife christy was lying on the floor. when asked what happened, he replied, she would not stop laughing at me.

investigators say he had blood on his hands and clothing. >> i don't remember the last time we had a murder on a cruise ship in alaska. >> reporter: the utah couple was with their children. authorities took him into custody as he reportedly blurted out, my life is over. departing seattle sunday, the ship was diverted to juneau, arriving wednesday morning. court documents say one witness watched the suspect grab the victim's body and drag her toward the balcony. brian beckstrom was aboard with his family when he stumbled upon the scene. >> just like white tank top on and some jeans and the jeans were completely covered in blood. he came out and said, it's not good. >> reporter: early, the cruise offered musical murder mystery trivia the night of the killing, one of several events that evening on the ship. a husband and father is in custody. the cruise continuing its voyage after a shocking crime at sea.

miguel almaguer, nbc news. just ahead -- the latest details in a train crash that injured dozens in barcelona. plus, a new look at the police response to a fatal car accident involving venus williams. you're watching "early today." nn my car insurance. huh. i should take a closer look at geico... (dog panting) geico has a 97% customer satisfaction rating! and fast and friendly claims service. speaking of service? oooo, just out. it was in. out. in! out. in! what about now? that was our only shuttlecock. take a closer look at geico. great savings. and a whole lot more. so find a venus smooth that contours to curves, the smoother the skin, the more comfortable you are in it. flexes for comfort, and has a disposable made for you. skin smoothing venus razors.

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breaking overnight, a train crashed at a station in barcelona, spain, injuring dozens of people.

>> we're in london this morning. what's the latest on the crash. >> reporter: good morning. the train crashed into a railway buffer inside the station after failing to brake when entering the station, but the exact cause of the crash isn't known yet. whether it was driver error or mechanical failure. the incident happened during the morning rush hour. the city center of barcelona. spanish emergency services say some 50 people have been injured, five of them seriously. right after the crash, dozens of emergency personnel were on the scene at the station with most of the injured being treated on the platform. but barcelona's emergency official said on twitter earlier that at least 18 people had been taken to hospital. thankfully, as of yet, no fatalities have been reported but, obviously, the five very seriously injured people are still being treated in hospital, and we have to see what the outcome of that treatment will be. back to you guys. >> ali, thank you.

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apollo astronauts, cltding jim lovell and buzz aldrin will reunite in oshkosh, wisconsin, to mark the 50th anniversary of the apollo program which brought the first astronauts to the moon. fascinating to think how far we've come since then. >> absolutely. those men are looking good after all these years. a professional tree climbers from around the world will compete in this year's international tree climbing championship at the national arboretum in washington, d.c. first of aushlll, i didn't know there were professional tree climbers, much less a competition. >> they know their thing. it's not just get barefoot and grab the first branch you can. >> they got all sorts of gear, ready to go. still ahead -- bill karins fills us in on the weekend forecast. and the fatal car crash involving tennis star venus williams. place... ...to go number 2.

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repeal failed. now senate leaders saying it's time to move on. reaction from both sides of the aisle. seeking justice. community coming together months after a community activist is murder murdered. >> getting ready for the rain later today. have you covered with everything going on this morning. good morning. it's nbc today. i'm tracey davidson. >> i'm vai sikahema. we've issued a first alert because of all the storms heading our way. we've had so much rain lately, the chance for flooding is much

high. let's get right to bill henley. the first alert forecast. the whole could be a washout. i don't think so. i think we're going get a rainy start. i think things will be improving on sunday. this system is trending to the south. eliminated the lehigh valley and northern suburbs with the the first alert. still up for philadelphia, suburbs and south jersey. from 3:00 this afternoon, but really those heavier rains are going to wait until the evening hours. into tomorrow. tomorrow afternoon and then they'll start to taper off later tomorrow. heavy rain at times, especially in delaware and south jersey. could lead to flooding and there's still a chance of some severe thunderstorms, but not necessarily likely. pretty quite right now. very little rainfall, in fact, a few scattered showers and thunderstorms to the south. staying to the south. first round of wet weather is missing us. later on we'll see that activity. right now fog in the lehigh valley. look at that, temperatures in

the 60s right now. break or two of sunshine this morning. morning is going to be just fine once we get rid of the fog. 77 degrees at 10:00. warming this afternoon. we're looking at 80s for this afternoon. that chance of late day showers and tef doheavy downpours will coming through the area. first, jessica boyington has your traffic. start this morning, starting on the vine street expressway. here's our camera around broad street and we're closed on this friday morning. here is westbound side moving towards the schuylkill. rights now see they're diverting off traffic off the broad street off-ramp. both directions closed and will be closed for the next half hour or so. also watching the schuylkill. slow moving meantime vehicle on the eastbound side. for pretty much the entire week now. right here you see it's a little bit slow. 16 minutes eastbound side from blue route to vine. speeds dropping and into the 40s. yesterday this