that anthony's comments were inappropriate for a person in that position. >> new white house chief of staff kelly quickly ousts scaramucci after just six days. breaking overnight. "washington post" bombshell, the he headline, trump dig kated son's misleading statement on meeting with russian lawyer. and the hunt for millions in hiding gold and jewels that leads to murder. plus, a swift water rescue of a man and his dog. >> the story of a true american hero. >> and are you brave enough for this suspension bridge? "early today" starts right now. good being with you.

i'm frances. >> and i'm phillip mena. the general takes command and cleans house. newly instilled chief of staff and retired general john kelly has begun to rein in a tumultuous administration, ousting anthony scaramucci. >> it was just ten days ago that scaramucci delivered a performance that was celebrated by his boss, only to push the envelope too far. and it looks to be just the first of many moves we can expect from the new chief of staff. for more, we're joined by tracy pots. fill us in on how this played out. >> reporter: frances, what we're hearing from sources who are familiar with what happened here, john kelly had a lot to do with this in terms of bringing

order and getting scaramucci out of there. ivanka trump, jared kushner, the president's adviser and son-in-law also reportedly on board with that. in fact, the white house press secretary said the president found scaramucci's profanity filled tirade inappropriate. so now one big opening near the top with general kelly now in power to be at the top with everyone, including ivanka around jared kushner reporting to him. a question this morning, sean spicer, the former press secretary, is he really out? he had not officially left yet. he was -- he resigned under scaramucci, but now with scaramucci gone, is he actually going to be leaving? the president says there's been no chaos in this white house, but take a look at the revolving door, just since he's been in office, how quickly some of his top advisers like mike flynn, jim comey, reince priebus, the chief of staff and now

scaramucci have gone in and now out of this white house. frances? >> wow, thank you so much. tracy potts for us in washington, d.c. breaking news is bringing more legal scrutiny on the white house this morning, after "the washington post" reported that it was the president who dictated his son's misleading first statement on that controversial meeting with a russian lawer in 2016. keeping track of us nbc's ron allen. >> reporter: what's most important about this story is that it raises the question whether president trump himself tried to mislead the public and investigators about that meeting and whether the president is involved in a coverup. the meeting happened during the height of the campaign. several russians with times to the kremlin. and a statement released by donald trump, jr. first said --

>> reporter: according to "the washington post," president trump personally dictated that statement. a claim not independently confirmed by nbc news. in july, the president's lawyer said mr. trump had nothing to do with it. >> let me say this, the president -- i do want to be clear, the president was not involved in the drafting of the statement and did not issue the statement. it came from donald trump, jr. >> reporter: you'll recall the administration's statements about the meeting changed when e-mails emerged. the russians told him they had incriminating information about hillary clinton. white house lawyers are pushing back hard saying -- >> reporter: all of this is fueling allegations of a coverup. here's how a former ethics chief for former president george bush sees it. >> it is one of the most

psychologically deranged and incompetent coverups in political history. i think that's it. he should do the dignified thing and resign his office if this story is true. >> reporter: all of this perhaps more for the special prosecutor on russia. >> thank you, ron. now to south carolina, where police are calling one 20-year-old woman james bond after she made a daring escape during a kidnapping. jordan, who didn't want her last name revealed, was robbed at gunpoint and forced in her car by three male suspects. they told her that she would have to have sex with one of her friends. at that point, she took off her seat belt and dove out of the car at 35 miles per hour. luckily she escaped with only minor injuries. >> bruises and scratches. but no sprains, no broken bones. that's the best i could have asked for, jumping out of a moving vehicle at 35 miles per

hour. i mean, i'm so lucky that i wasn't hurt worse. >> police say they arrested three suspects in connection with recent carjacking and kidnapping incidents. at least two of them are teenagers. a man and his dog are lucky to be alive in colorado. the man's car became stuck in an unusually dry creek bed that turned into a raging river in a flash flood. the waters were so strong, fire crews had to use a ladder to get to him. the dog can be seen in the window there before being pulled out. they were able to get the man and his pooch back to dry man, and did it all in only 12 minutes. a new report is showing how widespread opioid use has become. one in three adults used opioid medication in 2015, with 11 million people admitting to misuse. and access to health care is a major factor. those most likely to misuse

opioids are low income, unemployed and jumd under insur. half of those surveyed got the drugs for free from friends and family. and check out this scene in florida, where heavy rains from emily caused a catfish to get lost along a neighborhood street. >> bill karins is here with a look at your tuesday. if there were more, there could be a neighborhood catfish fry. >> there may been one any ways. emily is dissipating, so that's good news. it's located over central florida, exiting. it fell apart a little overnight. it's really not going to cause anymore problems, just a little rainfall throughout the day today. now our attention will turn to the next big story, the dangerous heat wave in the

coming days for areas of the west. very impressive, all-time record passing

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private mccloughan carries one immortal title, and that title is hero. we honor you. we salute you. and with god as your witness, we thank you for what you did for all of us. >> president trump awarded vietnam veteran james mccloughan with a medal of honor, the nation's highest military distinction. as a 23-year-old army medic in 1969, mccloughan risked his life to save ten comrades, despite his own injuries. it was the first medal of honor awarded by president trump. leaving the news, the president remains silent on vladamir putin's aggressive move to expel hundreds of u.s. diplomats out of russia. the lack of a response from the

commander in chief comes as he is set to sign a legislative package aimed at putin himself. andrea mitchell has the latest. good morning. >> reporter: this morning, phillip. with all of his domestic troubles, the president dealing with two important policy crises, one with russia and vladamir putin, the other with north korea. locked out. u.s. embassy trucks turned away from a recreation center outside moscow a day before they were supposed to be packed and gone. a major escalation, as vladamir putin orders sweeping cuts at the u.s. embassy in russia, lowering the boom on 755 personnel, more than half the staff. on state tv, putin retaliating after congress voted almost unanimously to sanction moscow. a veto proof majority. in estonia, the vice president saying president trump will go along with it. >> very soon, president trump will sign legislation to strengthen and codify the united

states sanctions against russia. regrettably, last week russia took the step of limiting the united states' diplomatic presence in their nation. >> reporter: what happened to president trump's russia reset? >> it's an honor to be with you. >> neither side really knows where this relationship is going. it's a little bit like a couple of fighters, punch drunk,some why near the 15th round, still slugging it out but not sure how it all ends. >> reporter: north korea's launch of a long-range missile that could reach much of the u.s. >> we'll handle north korea. it will be handled. we handle everything. >> reporter: but the secretary of state is trying to do it alone. so far only two of 24 assistant secretary spots filled. as veteran diplomats leave in droves, a mass exodus because of trump policies and budget cuts.

secretary tillerson did meet with the president. but the state department is going to have to come up with solutions for how to cut so many embassy employees from the staff in moscow and all before putin's deadline of september 1. >> thank you, andrea. from hollywood to broadway, the entertaining world is mourning the loss of sam sheppard. he won the pulitzer prize for drama in 1979. he was also nominated for an oscar for his role as chuck yager in "the right stuff." he died at home in kentucky from lou gehrig's disease. straight ahead, "game of throne" fans could pay the price. and the hunt for millions in treasure continues. me out tomorrow... ♪

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authorities in colorado are working to identify the body of a man who friends and family fear was killed while searching for millions in hidden treasure. it would be the third death and the second in as many deaths related to the treasure hunt. with authorities calling to an end for a hunt, the man behind the fortune has no plans to stop it. >> reporter: where rapids

cascade below the colorado rockies, a grim discovery. an unidentified body washed down river. friends and family fear it's 31-year-old eric ashby, who moved to colorado to find a $2 million treasure hidden somewhere in the southwest. >> i believe with all my heart he was looking for the treasure, and met his fate that day. >> reporter: if his death is indeed linked to the treasure hunt, he wouldn't be the first to risk his life in search of fortune. for the last seven years, hundreds of thousands of adventure seekers search for gold coins and jewels. the only clues in a poem. >> if you're brave and in the wood, i give you title to the gold. >> reporter: famed art collector forest fen says he hid his wealth to insure others to explore the great outdoors, spreading the word through his memoir "the thrill of the chase."

last year, treasure hunt errandy bellue was found in mexico's back country. then the body of paris wallace was recovered outside santa fe. >> people start to make decisions that aren't based in good sound judgment when it comes to money. >> reporter: but the search for gold is still on. and he insists the fortune is not hidden anywhere dangerous. after all, he says, the real treasure is in the hunt. the coroner's office is working to identify the body and hopes to have confirmation which the end of the week. frances? >> miguel, thank you. straight ahead, it is the ultimate spoiler with "game of thrones" the target in this latest round of hacking scandals. the sinister plot, next. both indoors... and out.

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>> comedy writers working fast and furious. >> scaramucci, we hardly knew you. didn't even stick around long enough for snl. hollywood is suffering another hack, this time targeting "game of thrones." hackers claim to have scripts for the fourth episode. hbo is not commenting on what was stolen but confirms to nbc news it experienced a cyber incident, which resulted in the compromise of proprietary information. and in a letter to employees, hbo's chairman says any intrusion of this nature is disruptive, unsettling and disturbing for all of us. >> especially for the hard core fans that are like, no spoilers. the center for science and the public interest is out with this year's top 2017 extreme eating awards. so here is what is on the menu.

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a teen speaks only to nbc 10 the moment she was struck by a stray bullet inside a philadelphia home. national night out. bringing people together today. just before 4:00 a.m. good morning. nbc news today. first look at four. possible start of heat wave. let's check in with bill henley first neighborhood forecast. good morning. cooled down to the 60s this morning and 70s. little bit warmer than

yesterday. 73 degrees in philadelphia. suburbs 61 and 65 in new jersey. also in the 60s for lehigh valley and delaware too. temperatures will be warming into the upper 80sed and some areas low 90s. up to 90 degrees in new jersey. exception the shore. 848 this afternoon. close to 90 for the lehigh valley and delaware. 87 for the suburbs. does hit 90 in philadelphia this afternoon. break the forecast down hour by hour with the future cast when i come back in ten minutes. first a look at national night out forecast. first, jessica boyington has your first alert traffic. to start, we have breaking news in new jersey. blackwood actually accident investigation underway closing down the 42 freeway northbound side. around blackwood road. exit 8. having traffic diverted off on the exits beforehand. about exhibit 7 b right beforehand, diverting everybody off. around college drive. instead of being stuck in that general area, take the black horse pike up.

get on the 42 freeway further north around exit 10 or so. that's my alternate. not a lot of traffic in the area. shouldn't take much out of your commute. 168 is your alternate for black horse pike. also watching the vine street expressway. right up ahead see the flashing lights. closed this morning westbound and eastbound for another hour. closed from the broad street to schuylkill. schuylkill also dealing with construction this morning too. eastbound and westbound between city line avenue up towards the blue route area. we're seeing lanes lost there. ongoing construction project we'll see happening until about 5:00 this morning. drive times okay in both directions. 14 minutes eastbound from blue route to vine. now to continuing coverage of the murder on the main line. investigators release new pitchers. the quiet neighborhood