♪ the russia story is a total fabrication. it's just an excuse for the greatest loss in the history of american politics. that's all it is. >> excitement was high at a sometimes raucous west virginia rally while back in washington, robert mueller is entering a critical new phase of the russian infrinquiry. leaked. the eye popping details of who said what. weatherec extremes and multiple rescues, including a human chain to a sand storm and a

mother nature's messages. fire if gulfs one of the world's tallest buildings. "early today" starts right now. good morning on this friday. i'm philip mrkena. renewed strife in washington and the trump white house. after the wall street journal released a bomb shell. special counsel robert mueller has impanelled a grand jury in the probe. it's a sign that it's wrapping up and will likely continue for months. the president remained as inkrejulous as ever. >> the russia story is a total fabrication. it's just an excuse for the greatest loss in the history of american politics. that's all it is. what the prosecutor should be

looking at are hillary clinton's 33,000 deleted emails. most people know there were no russians in our campaign. there never were. we didn't win because of russia. we won because of you. that i can tell you. >> and for more we're joined by tracie potts. break this down for us. what exactly does this mean for trump and the russia probe. >> it means they may be taking it in a different direction, deepening the investigation into these possible ties and we're getting reaction from the president's team inside and outside the white house. ty cob, special counsel to president saying they welcome anything to speed this up. they want it done fast and fairly. his outside counsel saying in statement that they have no reason to believe still that the president himself personally is under investigation. the president last tweeted about russia

is at an all time and very dangerous low. he says you can thank congress, the same people that can't even give us health care and speaking of that, on capitol hill, both democrats and republicans are working together to put together a bill that would prevent the president from firing robert mueller, the special prosecutor and prevent him from doing anything to stop this investigation. >> tracie potts for us. thank you. sharing the stage with the president tonight the governor of west virginia, jim justice, who made news of his own, announcing to mr. trump's delight that he would leave the democratic party and become a republican. >> today i'll tell you as west virginiaens, i can't help you anymore being a democrat governor. so tomorrow i will be changing my registration to republican.

republican prior to 2016 when he switched parties to run as a democrat while making sure he did not endorse hillary clinton during his state run for house. they hold 34 out of 50 states. it is one of the most revealing and damaging leaks to hit the trump kwhies yet. transcripts of the president's private phone calls with world leaders made public as they deal with the fallout from conversations that show an exacperated president. eye opening comments. >> reporter: the president's private calls unfiltered. one week after taking office. admitting to mexican president he's politically cornered. "i have to have mexico pay for the wall. i have to. i've been talking about it for a two year period." >> who's going to pay for the wall? who? >> reporter: in

washington post, the president pressures him to sdaup publicly saying mexico won't foot the bill. still he concedes the money would likely come from elsewhere "it will come out in the wash and that's okay." and "i won new hampshire because it's a drug infested den." another contentious call the next day with australia's prime minister. the two clashing over an obama era agreement that the u.s. admit refugees now detained in australia. "this is going to kill me as i'm the greatest person who does not want to let people into the country." "i've had it. this is the most unplesant call all day. putin was a pleasant call. this is ridiculous." and the press and his repeatedly railed against leaks. >> we're going to find the leakers. they're going to pay a

>> these people should be fired. they should be out of government. they're disloyal to our government and i hope that's what's going to happen. >> reporter: even democrats and mark warner say investigation on the leaks is coming and this morning reaction from prime minister malcolm turnbull "it's always better when these conversations remain confidential." let's go to ron allen on the fallout from the phone calls. >> yes, new hampshire where they're not happy at all. president trump in the call with the leader of mexico discussing the drug problem from south of the border and his desire to build the border wall called new hampshire a drug-infested den. saying that's the reason he won the state. though he did within the republican primary a year earlier but he lost.

>> well, what he said was an outrage to say that about new hampshire, any state in the united states of america. it's an insult to all of those people who have been dealing with this epidemic for years. >> reporter: the state's other democratic senator in a tweet called the remark disgusting, saying the proposed policied severely setback the epidemic across the nation. "the president is wrong and his remark is dis pointing." >> i think it's crazy that he would call it that. we do have an epidemic going on but new hampshire is more than a drug-infested den. >> i would say he needs to spend time getting to know the locales here, maybe sit down and talk or host a small town hall. >> to be clear the deadly opiod epidemic has hit it ha

just below kentucky put now new hampshire is demanding a presidential apology. no response from the white house. >> he may need to take a visit to new hampshire. the massachusetts woman convicted of urging her boyfriend to commit suicide via text is free on appeal. 20-year-old michelle carter was sentenced to 2 1/2 years in prison but only 15 months are mandatory. she was convicted in the suicide death of 18-year-old conrad roy. the victim's family outraejed she was not led away in cuffs. >> this girl's been going to the prom, disney world. so i don't think there's any justice. >> reporter: carter's attorney argued for leniency because of mental health issues. a humongous wall of dust rolling into western china as the regionot

thick sand storm and the poor visibility led authorities to issue their second highest weather alert. a sudden down pour in los angeles county. trapping cars and rivers of mud and some drivers had to be rescued by helicopter. a group of hikers were caught off guard by a flash flood. they formed a human chain to make sure that everyone got out safely. meteorologist bonny snider has some 19 million people at risk today. >> we're watching closely for the threat for severe weather in places like pittsburgh, pennsylvania we can see strong storms and they may produce hail. the good news is as the system pushes eastward, there's cooler and dryer air coming in behind it. that's going to make a big difference in the forecast towards next week. watch out for rain along the pan handle of florida.

day ahead. it's definitely getting cooler as you look towards the midwest with temperatures in the 60s and 70s but the heat is still building especially across the plains in the 70 and 80s. the cooler air is coming through and i think thats aller going to make big difference. >> it's been brutal for almost everybody. concert goers in chicago were disappointed after lollau -- lollapalooza was evacuated. just ahead willy nelson's latest proof that he's not dead. plus one of the world's tallest

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♪ willy is alive. rumors have been swirling about the death of willy nelson thursday. but his management confirmed the 84-year-old country music legend is alive and well. rumors have been circulating for years so much so that nelson had to write a song about it, it's called "still not dead." love willy. a researcher credited with stopping a global cyber attack earlier this year has been arrested. federal authorities say marcus hutchins made and sold malware that would steal data from online banking sites. it's unclear how widely the malware may have been used. an indictment was filed after a two-year investigation. he was detained by the fbi at

attending security conferences in the city. he found the so-called kill switch that spread to thousands of computers across the globe. a raging fire engulfing one of the world's tallest residential buildings. in london. and what's the latest on this sky-high fire? >> reporter: well, 40 floors of this 86-story torch tower, as it's known turned into an inferno after fire broke out in the early hours of the morning dubai time. sending chunks of burn r burning debris down below. almost 700 apartments was evacuated and authorities in dubai say nobody was injured. but this is the second time, philip, in as many years that the more than 1100 foot tall building has caught fire. it's not immediately clear what the cause was.

at least 30,000 buildings have panelling that safety experts say accelerates the rapid spread of fire. a lot of checks and balances are going to be carried out after this. >> that sounds like it and after seeing the pictures, it's incredible nobody was hurt. thank you very much. just ahead the deadly dangers of not buckling up. even if you're in the backseat. but first the national insurance crime bureau identifying the most stolen cars in the country. and hondas were the top target last year with nearly 100,000 thefts combined. ford and chevy pick ups ranked four and five on the list and nearly 30,000 toyota camryes were swiped in 2016. . plus, the snacks and drinks are gone, people. and one of us used up all the sunscreen! i wonder who... . we're gonna need some reinforcements...quick. copy that.

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well, startling new report finds many of us buckle up when we get in a car but that number drops when we get in the backseat. you're not only risking your life but safety experts say you're putting everyone else in the car at risk. here an eye opening look at what could happen. even at low speeds the impact can be powerful. jarring images of backseat passengers who didn't

in a new report from the insurance institute for highway safety, passengers admit they are less likely to fasten the seatbelt in the backseat because they are uncomfortable, difficult to use and believe they are safe. a deadly misconception. >> it is something that can happen to anyone at anytime. >> reporter: rosalynn was on vacation with her family when their suv rolled over. her son, calvin, the only one not wearing a seatbelt, was killed. >> all three of my other children lived. thigh were all buckled. i lived, my husband lived through a horrible crash. >> reporter: in taxis and ride shares like uber and lyft, only 57% buckle up. the risk is shared when the passenger behind them is thrown forward. even other passengers who are not wearing s

danger. >> more than half of the people who die in passenger vehicle crashes in the u.s. are unbelted. >> reporter: this is the easiest way to save lives on the road. miguel, nbc news for "early today." just ahead a preview of what to watch on the big and small screen this weekend. and what scores this 22-year-old. honey? can we do this tomorrow? (grunts of effort) can we do this tomorrow? if you have heart failure symptoms, your risk of hospitalization could increase, making tomorrow uncertain. but entresto is a medicine that was proven, in the largest heart failure study ever, to help more people stay alive and out of the hospital than a leading heart failure medicine. women who are pregnant must not take entresto. it can cause harm or death to an unborn baby. don't take entresto with an ace inhibitor or aliskiren.

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it's time to bleep and blur the big tv moments of the week. whether they need it or not it's this week in unnecessary sensorship. >> we've been able to start. [ bleep] in the butt. let's call it start [ bleep] in the butt. >> your favorite time of the day. i'll come up here and [ bleep] >> we have a good relationship. i [ bleep] about every day. i [ bleep] about every day of the week. >> that's the funniest rex tillerson has ever been in his life. >> didn't realize there were so many bleeps. we missed them. and paris st. germane paid a world record 2$260 million to trigger a transfer. according to multiple reports the new contract will pay him $36 million

bonuses. this makes him the most expensive transfer in soccer history and the highest paid player ever. 25 years old with all the money you could handle. a lot of entertainment hitting the big and small screen. so here's a guide on what to watch this weekend. if you're headed to the theater you can see the alternate realityiey ed ied y ed adaptati "the dark tower." if you're staying home, check out "comrad detective" starring channing tatum. and circulating the internet the newly released trailer "goodbye christopher robin" tells the origin story of a child hood favorite, whiny the poo. >> that's going to be so good. i cannot wait. this is "today." then you have to try always discreet. i didn't think protection this thin could work.

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am. good morning. i'm erika gonzalez. 90 seconds, two metro closures that could impact how you get around this morning. what you need to know before getting around. we had a lot of rain. we're keeping an eye on the rain for your friday. if you're traveling or worried about this

we're working for you as metro gets ready for several shutdowns. the closure that could impact

grand jury convened. what's the latest move in the russia -- could mean. he likely saved their lives. what they were doing at the time almost took his. the northern virginia deputy who accidently overdosed. first the cleanup continues for the third time in as many days after several severe storms. good morning everybody. i'm erika gonzalez. you may be one of those people picking up tree limbs or dealing with flooding this morning. things are a lot calmer. yes, they are. let's get to lauryn ricketts with a look at what we can expect today. i think we slept through a lot of it. right, lauryn? >> you're right, erika.