new reports on america's opioid addiction could put president trump's choice for drug czar in jeopardy. >> the raging california wildfires with some relief in sight and the man whose house was destroyed but still saved 1,000 exotic animals at his wildlife sanctuary. >> new york police telling nbc they are investigating two allegations of sexual assault against harvey weinstein. >> it is the one question every person paying for prescription drugs should ask their pharmacist to lower their bills. >> a royal dance and one playful paddling ton bear. "early today" starts right now. good morning, i'm phillip mena. >> good to be with you. i'm frances rivera. president trump is shedding new light on his battle plans to combat the nation's drug crisis. in a rose garden press conference, he touted upcoming

actions including signing a national emergency declaration on the opioid epidemic. >> we're going to have a major announcement probably next week on the drug crisis and on the opioid massive problem. and i want to get that absolutely right. this country -- and frankly the world -- has a drug problem. >> nbc's edward lawrence is in d.c. this morning and, edward, what's the latest on this potential emergency declaration and the white house's war on drugs? >> reporter: frances, i can tell you there is a major announcement by the justice department today related to this. the justice department expected to announce how they are going to fight this opioid crisis in america. now, many advocates are concerned that the president has not done enough in order to fight this war on drugs. the opioid deaths last year increased 21%. the president or a presidential declaration on this would remove certain barriers that helps make it easier to get treatment, for example, medicaid or folks on medicaid would be able to get

extra treatment covered by medicaid. now, the president named tom marino, representative from pennsylvania, as his drug czar nominee. there are some concerns about that. a new report from the washington post and 60 minutes showed that marino pushed through legislation that would make it more difficult to go after drug companies related to any issues like this. democrats, obviously very concerned about this, senator joe manchin from west virginia says this bill was camouflaged to make it through both the house and senate. he says the bill needs to be replaced. senator chuck schumer says that putting this czar in charge of the drug crisis in this country is like putting the wolf in charge of the hen house. back to you, frances, philip. >> edward lawrence for us. thank you. >> fire fighters in california say dying winds have helped them get a handle on the massive wildfires that have torched the northern part of the state. at least 41 people have been killed with hundreds more still messing. and now incredible new video shows the harrowing moments as

one officer tried to help residents escape. nbc's joe fryer has more. >> reporter: a week after wildfires began their deadly march across northern california -- >> you have to go. >> reporter: the sergeant behind this body camera footage is sharing his story. >> i was scared beyond reason. i'm not a fireman and never been trained to be a fireman so it was exceptionally shocking to me. >> reporter: brandon cutting with the sonoma county sheriff's department urgently knocked on doors when the fires erupted. >> she's disabled. let me get her feet. >> reporter: before helping a couple into their car. >> we did as much as we could, but that's what wears heavy on us, what did we miss. >> reporter: the latest death, contract fire fighter killed when a water tender rolled off a road. fire fighters are making progress attacking stubborn flames from above, blocking their path down below. on steep terrain like this, fire fighters are worried about something called roll out, logs and vegetation rolling down the

hill starting in places that haven't burned yet. it's why crews dig perimeters around the fire once the flames hit these lines they often vanish. meanwhile tens of thousands evacuees are returning home. lisa discovered her napa house still standing. >> i'm lucky, and we have somebody who wasn't so lucky that is moving into our guest house today. >> reporter: peter lang's house was destroyed because he focused his energy on saving the 1,000 exotic animals in safari west, his wildlife sanctuary. >> these are living breathing things and you have to stick with the living souls. >> reporter: officials say it will be days, if not weeks before evacuees in some of the hardest hit neighborhoods are able to return home for good. fire fighters say they are cautiously optimistic right now and hope some of these fires will be fully contained by week's end. philip? >> joe, thank you. >> senator john mccain appears to be indirectly criticizing president trump's global leadership. he gave an emotional speech

while in philadelphia in the nonpartisan national constitution center's liberty medal presented by former vice-president biden. here's what the arizona republican had to say. >> we live in a land made of ideals, not blood and soil. we are the custodians of those ideals at home and their champion abroad. we've done great good in the world. that leadership has had its costs, but we have become incomparably powerful and wealthy as we did. we have a moral obligation to continue in our just cause and we would bring more than shame on ourselves if we don't. we will not thrive in a world where our leadership and ideals are absent. we wouldn't deserve to. >> now, to a guilty plea from army sergeant bo bergdahl who walked off his army base in 2009. he was held for five years by the taliban and returned in a controversial prisoner swap in

2014. at fort bragg, north carolina he pleaded guilty and could face life in prison. hans nichols has details. >> reporter: sergeant bo bergdahl acknowledged he put his comrades in danger. i left my platoon in a battle field, he said, in a situation that could easily turn into a life or death situation. at least two american service members were seriously wounded as u.s. forces searched for bergdahl. the taliban had captured him almost immediately and would hold him for the next five years until he was released in exchange for five taliban prisoners. the guilty plea offered some comfort to one soldier in his platoon. >> the fact that he's admitted that he did desert and miss behaved in front of the enemy brought vindication and peace to me. >> reporter: the prisoner release was controversial. then candidate trump was highly critical. >> and 30 years ago he would have been shot. >> reporter: bergdahl said he left his post to report miss r

misconduct by his commanders. they say he may have been delusional. his mental state substantially contributed to his unreasonable decision to desert. >> the fact that the taliban kept him pinned up for five years is the result of his walking into the hands of the taliban. the united states of america still needs to extract punishment for what he did. >> reporter: the judge found bergdahl guilty of desertion for just one day, not his entire time in captivity. sentencing is set to begin next monday and he faces up to life in prison. philip? >> hans, thank you. >> the troubles continue to moubt for harvey weinstein as senior law officials tell nbc news they are investigating two credible claims of sexual assault made against the movie mogul. the spokesman denies allegations of nonconsensual sex. meanwhile a rallying cry is catching fire on social media many women posting me too if they ever faced sexual assault

or harassment from anyone. today the weinstein company's board is meeting to discuss potential sale of the movie studio which win stein cofounded. >> now to nbc meteorologist bill karins with a look at our day ahead. up in the northeast it's starting to fill a little chilly. >> so many areas have beautiful weather. there's only a couple exceptions. the pacific northwest has rain coming in and also the cold front that brought the cooler fall weather so many is held up. showers and storms continue from tampa to orlando over towards daytona beach. and that will be on and off throughout the day today. rainfall totals aren't going to be that heavy but you will have clouds ask rain to deal with especially the east coast of florida. that's where concentration could be the hardest around bra vard county. today's forecast, there's a lot of beautiful weather to be had. a chilly morning for sure. great lakes, ohio valley in the northeast, but this afternoon looks beautiful. temperatures will be in the 50s and 60s in many case s. texas all the wait through louisiana, mississippi, alabama this is what you've been waiting for. the beautiful fall weather, low humidity values. that continues into wednesday. as i mention the trouble spots

continue to be the northwest and the rain chances there in south ar

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not quite dancing queen, but more like dancing dutches. paddington bear greeted the duchess. he made a surprise event at a charity monday. he gave the princess a twirl at the padding ton rail station. duchess kate was joined by her husband prince william and brother-in-law prince harry. they were on the pull man train before waving them off to enjoy a treat on the country side. >> i don't think i've seen padding ton bear without the yellow raincoat and hat. it's like a big bear that kind of maybe his cousin or something. that's the real padding ton bear. >> right there. a twirl for the duchess. >> all right. leading the news this morning, north korea is claiming that nuclear war may break out at any moment. the country's deputy u.n.

ambassador delivered the disturbing warning to the general assembly's disarmament committee. he also alleged the u.s. is planning to stage a secret operation aimed at the removal of our supreme leadership. this comes just a day after u.s. secretary of state rex tillerson said that diplomatic efforts would continue until, quote, the first bombs drop. >> the university of louisville is officially fired legendary basketball coach rick patino three weeks after the school was linked to a corruption scandal. they voted unanimously to oust him. he was suspended without pay since late september. when an investigation accused the school of paying a player $100,000 to join the basketball team. pitino said he did not know about the alleged payments. he will fight tirelessly to defend his reputation. >> the end of a long successful career for him. rick scott declared a state of emergency to boost security for white nationalist richard spencer's visit to florida

gainsville thursday. he was one of the organizers of the violent rally in charlottesville, virginia that left one person dead. they are urging students to stay away. the university said it could not block his event due to free speech concerns. the governor's executive order will assist law enforcement agencies responding to planned rallies. >> it is one question that everyone filling a prescription at the pharmacy should be asking their pharmacist. do you know what it is? the answer could save you a bundle. borne to piggyback... and you don't want anything stopping you from doing what you love. so if you're looking to give your immune system extra support... only airborne plus beta-immune booster is made with a crafted blend of vitamins and minerals, plus an added ingredient proven to boost your natural defenses. keep doing what you were borne to do. airborne plus beta immune booster.

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former congressional aide callista gingrich former house speaker's wife neil cavuwt ging she converted to catholicism in 2009. >> now to an nbc news investigation that could save you money. >> most people believe that when you use insurance to pay for a prescription drug, especially generic drug, you're getting a good deal, better than if you bought the drug without insurance. >> but our team found that that's not always the case. nbc's anne thompson reports on prescription price secrets. >> reporter: in small town magnolia, texas, steve hopper loves to talk to his houston area customers. but there are some things this neighborhood pharmacist says he can't say. how hard is it to keep your mouth shut when you see somebody overpaying for a drug?

>> it's very difficult. i mean as a pharmacist, i'm here to take care of patients. it's extremely hard to see a patient spend more than what they really should be. >> reporter: how does this happen? take the cholesterol drug. the patient's copay is $42.60. his price for a patient paying without insurance, $18.59. a $24 difference he says he can't divulge because of the gag clause. so, just to be clear, there are instances where you cannot tell the patient there's a cheaper alternative? >> yes. it's in the contract language saying that we're not allowed to divulge that information. it's proprietary and we cannot share it. >> reporter: an nbc news investigation found it happens on a wide variety of generics on certain insurance plans. for a common antibiotic, it can be $18 more to use insurance than to pay out of pocket. and antidepression drug, $25 more.

and a whopping $117 difference for an allergy and asthma prevention drug. why? pharmacists and consumer lawsuits claim it's to hide something called a claw back. money pocketed by middle men called pharmacy benefit managers who negotiate the price your insurance company pays for a drug. >> this is a list of prescriptions that i filled this year that included a claw back. a little bit over a thousand prescriptions. >> reporter: wow. so, in some instances it's actually better to pay cash than use your insurance? >> yes, it would be. it would be better to pay cash than use the insurance. >> reporter: now some states are o outlawing claw backs or gag clause iz. >> what surprises me is the brazenness of the practice to think they could get away with something so obviously prous gouging. >> reporter: not all benefit managers do it, but those used by united health care and cigna are being sued. cigna won't comment on the litigation and united health care says, pharmacies should always charge our members the lowest amount under their benefit plans. you're an independent

pharmacist. what if you got blow back for speaking up for your customers? >> i would do anything within my own ability as a pharmacist to be vocal and active in saying we're doing what we should be doing and that's taking care of patients. >> wow. >> yeah, wow. it was right. one of the most -- that's one of the most useful reports. everybody should really see that. >> i never heard of the terms claw back, gag clauses and all of that, and knowing what a difference. so, now we ask, i guess you know definitely helps to ask any time. >> of course it does. you know what they do ask, every time you go, the pharmacists are usually, do you have any extra questions? usually it's no, i'm fine. especially if you've taken that medicine before. i feel like it's a formality almost you say that's fine. but now that they say that, everyone who is watching, we're going to put this story on our facebook page so we can spread the word because i think that's so important. those are major carriers that are doing that. >> what an eye opener. thanks to anne thompson for that report. >> just ahead a large stockpile of weapons and ammo discovered

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portugal and sent the smoke into the air over london. gave it like an orange hue. it was really crazy. people were outside wondering what was going on. well, back here in the lower 48, it is a chilly morning in air yafz of new england, cold, 36 in burlington, 44 in new york with a bit of a breeze going on. you do need a jacket in many cases. we are already seeing the return of warm air, though. it is warmer this morning in areas like st. louis and chicago than yesterday. oklahoma city top ten-day. st. louis, chicago, atlanta 69 and sunny. makes you want to walk around and play golf or tennis and even into wednesday, guys, the great weather pattern continues. florida is the exception with rain. >> sorry, florida. >> sorry, florida. you have good weather the rest of the year. >> breaking news a bust involving an arsenal of weapons and a stockpile of ammunition. this is "early today." years off your skin age.

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i'm good. say goodbye to distractions. now you can last longer with new k-y duration spray. a baby and 5-year-old found dead. look could for answers. honoring mccain. a longtime leader who showed ee country leadership. whoa. when you walk outside, you'll say, it's fall. good morning, welcome to "nbc10 news today" first look at 4. i'm tracy davidson. >> i'm via sikahema. we'll get to meteorologist krystal klei, the most accurate weather forecast. >> yes, it is cold out there. 30s on the map, and not just in mt. pocono that we have 30s.

check it out. trenton, pottstown, read iing a in the upper 30s. wilmington at 42. we've felt the cold air. yesterday afternoon was cool, as well. today in the afternoon, the temperatures are not going to warm much. talking a very fall-like day finally as we're in the middle of october. here's a look at radar and satellite. a clear picture. fairly low dew points which means the humidity is low. we've got a clear, clear picture. today is break out the flannel kind of day. how long will it last? are we stuck in a fall spell now or warming? you know the answer. we're warming up. we'll talk more about how high the temperatures will go in the next few days. now you to traffic and jessica boyington. >> thanks.

we're starting off in center city on the vine street expressway. we're might having both directions now without that construction project in place. right here around 24th, westbound moving toward the schuylkill expressway. so far, so good. we're not seeing any problems there. we'll end with 422. drive times okay. nine minutes on the eastbound side from 2 9 to the schuylkill. speeds in the high 50s. it's 4:00 a.m. we're following breaking news from overnight. fire tarries through a cherry hill apartment complex forcing people out into the middle of the night. one family is crediting their cat with helping them make it out alive. nbc10's matt delucia joins us live with the latest. what can you tell us about what happened? >> reporter: folks as you mentioned tried to run out of the building as fast as they could. even with their pets. this is the colonial apartments in cherry hill. i'll step out of the way. most of the firefighters have left. this is on 38 and cooper landing road. the fire started up there on the fifth floor, and it spread to